You're In My Seat
by Amthyst Rose Dracoanias
Summary: Sakura has been home schooled ever since her mother found out about her being beat up for having pink hair. Which was 1st grade. Now a sophomore, Sakura begs her mother to let her go to school. Will she be able to cope, or will her past repeat? GAAXSAK
1. Chapter 1

This is a GaaraXSakura fanfic that I'm writing to recover from an absence

**This is a GaaraXSakura fanfic that I'm writing to recover from an absence. I'm very sorry that I haven't updated my other story so, please; wait just a little longer while I try to get back in the mood. I'm not really going to have an "Inner Sakura" it's just going to be her "common sense. I'm also going to try to tie in key aspects of Matsumoto's story in some form or other so that it isn't as much of an alternate universe. This chapter is probably going to be really slow and pretty short, so sorry in advance. It's kind of just an intro.**

"I want to go to public school."

"No"

It's my education! I've been homeschooled so long I can't deal with people anymore. If you want me to go to school and become a great doctor, I'm gonna need to be able to tolerate people."

"You're not going to public school and that is final!"

"If you're so determined to see me fail than maybe I just won't BE a DOCTOR!"

Stomps could be heard going down the hallway of their single-story house, followed be the loud impact between her daughter's door and the frame.

Misa Haruno sighed; this was an argument that came up just before the start of every school year. She remembered when Sakura enjoyed being homeschooled, when the advanced course Misa found gave her a challenge she never got from a public school, when she was grateful from the reprieve that she got from being **away** from people.

Oh Misa tried to keep her little girl safe and happy but when it boiled right down to it, Sakura was different from the other children. If it were just the fact that Sakura was a bright young girl who excelled in any task that was given to her, she would have no qualms with enrolling her into a public school. The real issue, the only thing stopping her from letting her little girl go, was Sakura's appearance.

With that thought, Misa had to sigh again. She herself had long black hair and blue eyes. She wasn't a genius, she wasn't stupid either, but she just didn't have the academic smarts to get go to college or get a job with that paid well. Her husband, God rest his soul, wasn't the brightest tool in the shed himself, and had similar features and coloring; black hair and blue eyes. Their daughter however, beautiful as she was, looked nothing like them. The doctor's blamed it on Misa's smoking while she was pregnant. Sakura was petite while her parents were exceptionally tall. As opposed to their black hair and blue eyes; Sakura had pastel pink hair and startling, emerald eyes. She was so smart that, if they could afford to, Sakura could go straight to college courses without missing a beat. She was as different from her parents as day was from night. Suffice it to say, Misa quit smoking as quickly as she possibly could.

Sakura used to come home in tears, covered from head to toe in bruises, scratches and mud. She'd never tell what happened, it wasn't in her nature to tattle, but Misa knew that she was either running from someone or someone had beater her up. The first time, she'd been furious that anyone would hurt her baby girl and had a pretty good idea where and when it happened. She had marched to the school her with Sakura in tow and straight to the principal of her elementary school and demanded an explanation. All she received was the indifferent response of the school secretary (the principal couldn't be bothered) that once a child is outside of the school grounds, school employees have no control over what that child does. It had been obvious that the stupid twit wouldn't have cared if she herself saw a child playing in the road while a car came. Or even if a group of children were beating up another child for no other reason than that she looked different.

This was the most determined argument that Sakura had presented yet. And, what's worse, she had a point. The girl had become socially hopeless. Once again, the opposite of her parents who were social butterflies from birth. It hadn't always been that way for Sakura, but people change when they don't get to experience the variety of company that the world had to offer.

With one last sigh, and a pointless dream of a cigarette, Misa made her decision and went to talk with her daughter about the upcoming school year.

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She'd thrown herself on her bed as soon as she had entered her room. The stomping and slamming had been childish to say the least but she didn't care anymore. If her father had been here, he would have mediated the argument and come up with a compromise everyone could agree with. He always convinced her mother to let her participate in the local ice rink's skating lessons as well as local contests. But no matter how many times she begged him to convince her mother to let her go to public school, he would just shake his head and apologize, saying that that was one thing he couldn't do for her. Her mother always said that he had no right to ask that since he wasn't around when she was attending public school.

Yeah, she got picked on, but there were other kids there who were somewhat nice. Like Ino, she always made Sakura smile and would stand up for her. She'd even started to teach Sakura how to stand up for herself before her mother took her out of school. Sakura had always wondered how Ino was and if they would still be friends now if she had stayed in school. Rolling over, she saw that her mother was in the doorway.

"You know," Misa started, "it's always been **our** plan that you go to college and learn to be a doctor. I realize that I kind of pressed the issue but I want you to understand that I wouldn't have if I didn't think it was to your benefit. And-let me finish Sakura."

Sakura closed her mouth, willing to listen for a little while longer.

Misa took a deep breath, "I see your point, you won't be able to cope in a university the way you are now." She looked at her daughter, letting her word sink in during the silence. I only Hashi was here, he's be so much better at his compromising thing. She prepared herself for her fate. "I'm will to give this a try."

Sakura blinked once. Twice. Three times. And then came squealing, and jumping, and smiles, and many "Thank you's", and-

"Hold it right there missy!"

Sakura froze in her excitement and looked at her mother with confustion.

"There are conditions. 1) I want you to maintain a 3.5 GPA **at least**. 2) You will take Advanced and/or Honor courses. 3) You will tell me and/or the principle if anyone ever tries to hurt you. Understood?"

Sakura thought about it, there was nothing wrong with the conditions. Her mother obviously knew that it would be ridiculous for her to tell if someone made fun of her. She didn't linger on that thought to terribly long though. She would finally get what she wanted. This year she was going to be a Sophmore and she couldn't wait for school to start now. Without another thought, she accepted her mother's terms and continued to do her victory dance.


	2. Chapter 2

"You're in my seat

"You're in my seat."

Sakura looked up at the young male glaring down at her as though she were some invading alien. '_Please don't tell me __**this**__ is how I'm gonna start my first day…'_

**:Flash Back:**

_The sun was shining, her new clothes were waiting for her, she had all of her books already in her bag, and her schedule and information was waiting on the dining room table. Sakura got out of bed early, took a long shower, and primped herself to perfection. She never was one to wear make-up unless it was for a formal even so she didn't really bother with it today. Her waist length hair, she put up in a simple pony tail to keep it out of the way. Even though her new school, Kage High, was a state of the art school that bordered on becoming a private school; they didn't require school uniforms stating that they wanted the students to be able to express themselves through their wardrobe, provided that it was appropriate of course. _

_With this in mind, Sakura went to the outfit her mother just bought her last week for her first day of school. It wasn't often that she and her mother went shopping for clothes since they didn't always have the money for it. But, her mother said that this was an okay exception and wanted her first day to be special. The clothes really weren't very special on their own; a pair of dark blue jeans with pink studs forming petals winding down the right leg with a black T-shirt with a cherry blossom tree and petals being blown around. When it was put together, it seemed as though the petals from the shirt had been blown on to her jeans. She topped it off with her new pair of black converses. She had been so surprised when her mother bought them for her. Trying not to dwell on it lest she feel guilty again, and her mother noticed again, and her mother scolded her for feeling guilty again. She went down the hall to the kitchen, which was connected directly to the dining room table. _

_Her mother was at the stove making her favorite, chocolate chip pancakes, bacon, and strawberries, and orange juice. After having a good-luck-don't-let-them-pick-on-you-have-fun-but-work-hard-call-me-if-you-need-anything-today's-my-day-off speech, Sakura was permitted to go outside to wait for her bus. That was probably one of the reasons that she wanted to go to school so badly now that she though about it. They've lived in this house her whole life and all this time she has been able to see the other kids her age line up to get on the bus. The bus stop was right in front of her house, across the street to be precise. It was the only use anyone could find for the empty lot that had once held a house, before it burnt down. _

_She'd been very nervous, standing there alone, and it only got worse as more teens joined her. No one said anything to her, they just stared, didn't ask her for her name or if she was new. No, they just stared and all the memories from her one year of school came back. The names they called her because of her strange pink hair and her abnormally large forehead, and the stupidly smart brain that dwelled behind it. Forcing herself to get over it and put the past behind her, she held her head up high and waited for the bus. When it finally rolled up, she had to stop herself from running in and hiding in a corner so no one could stare at her hair anymore. Luckily though, she managed to make it not only on the bus, but to a seat, and an uncomfortable seat no less. The bus had several more stops after her house so she brought out a book to read while she waited to arrive at their final destination. She soon became curious though when, having made a stop, several minutes had gone by without them moving. 'Are we at the school already?'_

"_Hey! Pick a seat already! I can't go anywhere until you sit down!" was heard from the driver._

_Looking up, there was a young man with messy red hair that spiked up in different directions and fell across his forehead but still failed to cover the tattoo on it; it was the kanji for love. _

'_Nothing about him screams love' _

'_**You don't know him Sakura. Just think, you never would have gotten the book in your hands if you had judged it by its cover.'**_

'_I guess that's true'_

_She continued to observe the boy as he stared at her, 'Probably can't take his eyes off of my hair.' He was wearing as much black as he could with out covering too much of his skin. He had extremely dark rings of eyeliner around his eyes that made him look not unlike a raccoon. A black T-shirt cut off just above his slim stomach with chain hanging in an x from bother shoulders to the bottom of the "shirt". Black trip pants with more chains than you'd need to restrain the Hulk. He had a belt of chain, and the belt buck was a set of handcuffs. He, like her, had black converses but, for some reason, used more chain as the laces. As a final touch, around his neck was a black, spiked collar. He really was quite attractive, excepting the fact that he wore more make-up than her Aunt Loretta had on her wedding day._

_Finally, after possibly another minute of staring, the boy opened his mouth, "You're in my seat."_

**:End Flash Back:**

"I'm sorry." Sakura wasn't sure, but she could have sworn that she saw his eyes darken.

"Not yet you're not." He looked around at the options for alternative seating and then looked back down at the pink devil who had taken his seat. No one took his seat. NO ONE. "There's a seat five rows down, move there, now." And he just stood there waiting, while the driver yelled at him to sit and the other occupants of the bus yelled at her to just move already so they could get going.

"You know, I don't think I will. I rather like this seat and, besides, I don't exactly see your name on it." With that she looked back down to her book and continued reading, letting the boy glare at her with his third mightiest glare reserved for insects that tried to bite him. Key word being "tried", she was "trying" to defy him and make him lose face.

Meanwhile, Sakura was fighting against her own common sense.

'_**You really shouldn't be picking fights with someone on your first day over a seat that isn't even comfortable. Particularly with a guy who looks like he may enjoy partaking in violence."**_

"_So, he didn't ask me to move, he told me. If he had asked nicely, I would move but he didn't even look like he thought the word "please". So no, I don't think I will be moving to another seat."_

"For your information Bubble Gum," he allowed himself a smirk as she visibly bristled at the nickname, "You're sitting on it."

Curious, she shifted enough to where she sat but no enough to get up or allow him an opportunity to "help" her move. Sure enough, right where she was sitting, the seat had been roughly cut into to make a love kanji that matched the tattoo on his forehead. Coincidentally, it was also the source of her discomfort as the torn fabric was quite stiff and poked her in the thigh while she sat on it.

She looked back at him and said, "Your name is Love?" She decided to take his glare as a negative and simply smiled up at him, "Well then, I guess I'm not moving."

With everyone's yells getting louder, he decided to cave in; just this once, only this once, and boy was she going to pay for it.

He sat down next to her with a mess of jingles and jangles. Right next to her. Thigh to thigh. He glanced over at her to see her staring, wide-eyed at him while a blush quickly took over her complexion. He placed his left foot on top of the seat in front of him and his right foot on the middle of it. If she changed her mind and wanted to move, he wasn't going to let her. She stared at him with that blush for a couple of minutes and he noticed something…

'_She's almost pretty. If you can get over the fact that she has PINK hair. She actually looks appealing when he blushes. And she certainly isn't lacking in curves'_

Sakura, noticing the direction of his gaze immediately began to blush a dark crimson and stuttered, "I w-would g-g-great-t-tly ap-preciate it if you w-would foc-c-cus your g-g-gaze somew-where else!"

Allowing himself another smirk, he slowly and quite obviously scanned her body again. She looked away in an attempt to hide her deepening blush and embarrassment, but it was all in vain, he could tell because her very visible ears were turning a deep red as well.

After she calmed herself down, she tried to focus her mind on her book and ignore the warmth that was seeping from his leg to hers. And how, with the motion of the bus, all of the chains he had on his person would jingle quite pleasantly. And how he kept glancing at her just as she would look up to see if he had moved. And how he would-

'_**Sakura, this is not what the dictionary says "focusing" is.'**_

'_I know that! It's just so hard with him being RIGHT there. I mean, he's practically glued to my side!'_

'_**Ask him to move."**_

'_Easier said than done.'_

'_**So be strong and take the difficult path. If he says no, ask again until he gets annoyed and finally moves. Or, you could wait a few more seconds until you arrive at the school.'**_

At that thought, she looked out the window and saw that the school was indeed approaching; or rather, they were approaching it. No amount of rude, inappropriate behavior from a seemingly attractive emo teen would be able to rain on her parade. She smiled brightly, forgetting her discomfort immediately as she saw how close they were to the school. It was a thirty minute ride and she guessed that this guy had been sitting next to her for about twenty-five minutes since there hadn't been much time between her stop and his.

As the bus came to a complete stop in front of the school, she gathered her bag and got ready to get up but found that she was stuck. The guy's feet were still up against the back of the seat in front of them, blocking her exit. She watches as the other teens filed out without even glancing at her.

"Umm, aren't you going to get up and go to class?" She asked it so quietly she wasn't sure he heard her since she received no response. He had his head resting against the back of the seat, his eyes closed, and listening to System of a Down on his IPod. She reached over and pulled out one of the earphones and said, louder this time, "I asked if you were going to get-"

"I heard you the first time." He opened one eye and snatched back his earphone, "I don't get off until the driver is ready to leave. So settle down, 'cause you got a long wait ahead of you." With that he plugged the earphone back in and closed his eye.

Sakura looked at him and looked at her watch. She wanted to get in early so that she could figure out the best way from to her locker and from her locker to her classes. She had a map she just had to figure it out. Looking back at the guy stopping her from being her efficient self, she came to a decision.

"Sorry! I don't do so well with waiting!" He opened his eyes to see her jumping into the seat in front before jogging off the bus and into the school.

'_Hmph. Coulda had more fun with that one.'_

'_**You know, you could have told her your name. Introduced yourself properly. She probably wouldn't have been so adamant about staying in "your" seat if you had been a little nicer.'**_

'_Why should I be nice to her? She shows no respect to those she should fear.'_

'_**Did never occur to you that she may not understand that she should fear you oh Might One?' **_

'_Everyone knows to fear me. Even the dick with the chicken ass for a head knows that you'd be suicidal to mess with Gaara.'_

'_**Ah, so we're talking in third person now, are we?'**_

'_Shut Up!'_

It was another ten minutes before the driver was ready to go. Gaara got off the bus and headed to his homeroom. It was never a problem getting off the bus late since he always got to class right before the teacher did anyway. He had Kakashi, a directionally challenged pervert trying to follow in the footsteps of the vice principle who, coincidently, writes the smutty porn series that Kakashi reads. How men like them managed to get hired at a high school is a mystery to the entire school.

As Gaara entered class, he saw a lot of disappointed looks. Many of the kids in his homeroom knew his reputation. All except one it would seem. There were three large windows on wall opposite the door. There were three desks in front of each window but the ones that got the best view were in the middle. Gaara's preference being for the middle seat, he always sat in the middle seat in front of the middle window. He stalked over to said seat and glared down at his oblivious victim.

"Hey! Bubble Gum! You're in my seat! Again!"


	3. Chapter 3

Well it would seem that this is an okay first High School Fanfic

**Well it would seem that this is an okay first High School Fanfic. Unkey-Dorey! I shall continue. **

**Here is the disclaimer that I haven't exactly done yet (and don't want to do): I do not own any Naruto characters or anything associated with them. If I did, Sakura **

**and Gaara would have fallen in love at first sight and Sasuke wouldn't exist. **

She'd made it into the school without any encounters like she had had on the bus. _'Obviously, that guy was one of a kind.'_ She even managed to find her locker, #413, without having to ask anyone. When she got there, she found that her locker was an island in a sea of teens. Teen girls to be precise. She stood there, debating with herself on whether or not she should brave it or just wait until they move. On the one hand, she wasn't sure that she was ready to interact with anyone yet and her experience on the bus only made her realize how little she knew about being around teens her age. On the other hand, the whole reason for her being here was so that she could get used to being around people her own age. Steeling herself, she straightened her shoulders and held her head up high, and marched over to her locker that was in the middle of this group of girls.

Just as she had reached it, the girl to the right of her locker stepped back, having become accustomed to having an empty space there. The result of the impact was to send Sakura crashing into the girl on her left. Both of whom simply stared at her until she recovered her ability to speak and apologize for interrupting them.

The girl that was to the right of her locker and had initiated the impacts looked older than herself. She was half a foot taller than her and had her blonde hair pulled back into four pigtails. What she was wearing was pushing the school apparel restrictions. She was wearing a lavender dress that barely covered her thighs. She had green eyes,but unlike Sakura, they were such a dark green that, without light, they would look black. She had four piercings in each ear. She didn't wear make-up but, she didn't need any.

The girl that Sakura had bumped IN to, on the left of her locker, was only an inch or so taller than her. Her brown hair was secured into to buns at that top of her head and she had matching chocolate eyes. She wore a red asian style top, camouflage cargo pants, and combat boots. The only thing she wore that seemed "girly" was a silver charm bracelet on her left wrist.

It wasn't just these two girls who were staring at her anymore, it was all of them. She couldn't help it, she immediately looked down so that they couldn't see her forehead. It was instinctual now. She was trying so hard not to cry, she hadn't made even made it to class and she already felt like a freak. This was not going the way that she had planned it at all. Perhaps her mother had been right.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to bump into to you! I'm really sorry. It won't happen again. Ever again!"

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As the pink haired girl continued her apologies, the other girls started to feel bad about it but were confused as to who she was. Most of the students here have gone to school together since kindergarten. The schools in Konoha were the best but, the selection was small. You either went to public school or a boarding school in Suna. How a girl with pink hair had escaped their notice was a mystery to them. The pinkette had a wild look in her eye, the kind a cornered animal gets before it tries to bolt.

Temari was worried that she run off and into the wrong person. The school may be one of the best, but some students here who have some really bad reputations. Reaching down and touching her shoulder, Temari tried to calm the girl down.

"Hey, it's alright. It was my fault anyway for bumping into you first. My name is Temari and that's Tenten. You know, the girl I kinda threw you at." She grinned and scratched the back of her head, a little embarrassed that she had been so clumsy. It was only because that stupid Nara guy looked like he was gonna pass out while he walked by her and she didn't want him to fall on her. _'Actually, I probably woulda caught him.'_ she thought with a blush.

Trying to distract herself from that thought, "Oh, this is Hinata and this is Ino." The girl that Temari named as Hinata, was the petite like the pink haired girl and had short, indigo hair that complemented her pearl eyes. She wore dark blue capris while her upper body was concealed by a thick jacket despite the warmth. Ino, on the other hand, was closer to Temari's height and had long blonde hair pulled up into a ponytail at the top of her head with a lock of hair hanging over her left eye. She had a purple, sleeveless turtle neck and black jeans on. Unlike the other girls, Ino wore make-up, a lot of make-up.

"So, what's your name?" Temari asked.

"Bill-Board Brow?!"

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Sakura looked up at the familiar nickname. The other girls stared in horror as their friend seemed to insult this girl that she didn't even know.

"I-Ino-Pig?" Sakura couldn't believe it. Her only friend from her childhood was standing right there calling her by the pet name that she had come up with. They used to call each other names so that the other kids' antics wouldn't hurt so much. It was Ino's way of making Sakura stronger.

Sakura got up from where she had fallen and stared at Ino, not sure what to do. Ino's eyebrow rose, and then it started to twitch. She started to look very agitated. All of a sudden, Ino yelled out,

"Hey! Bill-Board Brow! Get over here and give me already! I haven't seen you in ages!" Ino and Sakura had a big hug and Ino explained to the girls how they knew each other as well as the reason for Sakura's shyness, mush to Sakura's dismay. Temari smiled, _'No wonder she's so shy. She hasn't been around people her own age for that long? Probably a good thing she ran into us first.'_

The girls helped Sakura figure out how to open her locker as she had never had to do so before. After sharing their schedules, Sakura was happy to know that at least one was in each of her classes. All of the girls, except Temari who was a senior, were sophomores. All of a sudden, a bell went off signaling that everyone should start heading towards their homerooms. Temari apologized, saying she better go.

"Normally, I would stay and chat a little longer," Temari explained to a disappointed Sakura, "but I got Baki this year. Last year, he convinced Principal Tsunade to expel three students for being late. No one knows how he got the most lenient principal in the world to expel THREE students based on tardiness, but I have no intention of finding out personally."

As Sakura watched Temari run off in the direction of her class, Tenten, Hinata, and Ino looked over Sakura's schedule, quite excitedly, told her that they all had the same homeroom together. As they walked towards their homeroom, the girls filled Sakura in on the latest intrigue which, coincidently, concerned their homeroom teacher.

Ino started the tale as she told Sakura why the teacher was so interesting, "You see Sakura, Kage High School rarely ever hires new teachers. KHS has built itself a strong reputation and doesn't want to lose by hiring the wrong teacher. It only takes one teacher with bad habits to tear a school apart. With that in mind, Principal Tsunade has to be extremely specific and selective. That's what makes this new teacher's presence so…STRANGE!" Ino looked like she was going to hyperventilate if she thought about it any longer. Sakura didn't really understand what was wrong. This teacher must be really something if he met the requirements of such a reputable school.

Tenten, seeing her new friend's confusion, started to explain; "The new teacher, Mr. Kakashi Hatake, used to teach at an Ive League University. Well, that was before he got fired for having an inappropriate relationship with a female student. That female student, coincidently, was learning to be a teacher and, coincidently, teaches Abstract Art down the hall." Tenten glanced down further down the hall that they were walking on, right at a door that said ABSTRACT ART TAUGHT BY ANKO MITARASHI. Tenten shook her head in disappointment, "Really, first Baki's expulsions, and now this. Principal Tsunade must be losing her mind.

Ino took up the commentary as Tenten seemed too disappointed in the principal to continue. "I heard that he always wears a mask and no one has ever seen his face. I also heard that there is another new student to the school beside you, Sakura." She looked to see the pinkette's face light up with curios excitement. "As it turns out, while he isn't Mr. Hatake's son, he's lived with him since he was nine. His name is Sasuke Uchiha and I also heard…THAT HE'S TOTALLY HOT!!"

Sakura sweat-dropped, she had forgotten how boy crazy Ino was. Even when they were little, her day wasn't complete until she found three new crushes. Sakura looked up and saw that they had finally made it to their homeroom. After the "interesting" conversation, Sakura was more than a little worried about entering the classroom.

'_What if it isn't just gossip and he starts flirting with Ino and the girls? And what about the other girls in the class? Should I tell someone?'_

'_**Why do you think he would only flirt with the other girls? Don't you think that you have just as much to worry about as they do?'**_

'_Me?! Why would he start something with me?'_

'_**Never mind…'**_

They entered to see that they were the first ones there. They must have walked rather quickly to be the first ones there. Tenten's eyes seemed to light on fire as she threw her fist in the air.

"YES! First Pick On Seating!" She looked over at Sakura and explained, "KHS has a policy about arranged seating. Wherever you sit, your first day of class is where you sit for the rest of the year. Last year, I got stuck sitting next to this really annoying guy wit hglasses who kept on talking about how stupid I was to be a martial artist. I just wanted to grab him by his girly silver hair and toss him out the window!"

Hinata had been silent ever since they had started walking towards their class, but suddenly looked up and said, "W-well at l-l-least w-we can sit next to each other this year."

Tenten smiled, nodded her head and sat down in a random seat next to the right side of the middle window. "I like this one! Now all of you have to surround me. I refuse to be anywhere near that pansy-ass Kabuto this year!" With that, Ino sat in front of Tenten, Hinata sat next to her, and Sakura sat behind her. She rather liked this seat since the window offered an incredible view of the open center of the school. Kage High School's Gardening class took care of the courtyard at the center of the school. It was beautiful.

Sakura was so entranced by the effort put into making something so beautiful that she didn't notice the shadow looming over her. Her new friends didn't notice either as Ino and Tenten were sharing gossip about the new teacher and Hinata seemed to be immersed in a book. Well no one noticed until the shadow suddenly spoke in a menacing voice, accusing the pinkette of a crime that she think she had already committed earlier the same morning.

"You're in my seat. Again."

"Double Jeopardy!" she deadpanned.

The red haired guy from the bus stared down at her, looking as though he was ready to yank her out of the seat himself if she didn't move. Despite the barely concealed anger at the girl displayed in his jade eyes, his barely covered chest continued to take shallow breaths implying that he was still calm. He leaned down real close to her ear as the other girls looked.

"I've decided that you are going to make this year fun for me." He whispered, almost seductively in her ear, before sitting down in the second best seat in the room. The seat behind her. If she had dared to look back at the red haired male, she would have seen a slight smirk on his face and she would have missed the silent entrance of another male student.

He was as physically appealing as her tormenter. He had black hair that seemed blue in the most peculiar style. It was strange, but it seemed to suit him, even if it did look like the back end of a chicken. He also had the darkest eyes she had ever seen. He was wearing a dark blue T-shirt that had a strange symbol on the back; it was shaped like a fan, the top was red and the bottom was white. His cargo pants were tan and, strangely, his arms were wrapped in bandages. He glanced at the girls and the strange guy smirking maliciously at a girl who had the strangest shade of hair. Pink, she had pink hair. He 'hn'-ed to himself and took a seat in the back right corner of the room.

Sakura watched him the whole time having completely forgotten the strange boy who seemed to dislike her based solely on her seating choices. It wasn't her fault that Tenten told them to sit around her. She also didn't notice that the red-haired boy's eyes narrowed at the arrival of the "Mr. Dark and Brooding" and quickly grew unhappy with his "victim's" interest in him. He decided to remedy this situation while the other girls were looking elsewhere.

Reaching up, he trail the index and middle finger of his right hand down the pinkette's neck, sending chills down her spine before quickly pulling back and looking out the window as though he had done nothing. Her focus was back on him as she tried to keep an eye on him without actually looking at him.

'_Only in my first class, and I've already encountered one of the common maladies inherent in a high school…a bully.'_

**That is where I'm gonna end it this chapter. I'm happy to say that this is the longest chapter I've ever done and I fully intend to do more. Warning, I plan to make a chapter for every class Sakura has on her first day and then I'll speed it up. I didn't really focus on Hinata very much because 1) I'm not really sure how to go about it and 2) I'm saving up for Naruto's entrance. I refuse to spoil. **

**I would also like to thank all of the readers who reviewed this story.**

**Xotina, rosi4ka1706, USWeasilgirl, Alymora, soccercrazyfreak, and BluePanda22311. Thank you very much for your support! I hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as the first two.**


	4. Chapter 4

'Double

'_Double. Jeopardy.'_

Gaara almost laughed right there. He noticed that the pinkette was had quickly made friends with his sister's friends who were ignoring him as always. It was an arrangement that they could all agree on, he didn't bother them and they didn't bother him. He wondered if their arrangement was going to hold up considering his plans for their new friend.

Double jeopardy, according to double jeopardy, a person could not be tried in a court of law for the same crime twice. It was quite clever of the girl to think of that as quickly as she had, and without even a blink of an eye. Gaara smirked at her long pink locks. She had another thing coming if she thinks she's safe. If she wanted him to follow the rules of a court of law, than she'd get what she wanted. Besides, he wasn't accusing her of stealing his seat "on the bus" this time; he was accusing her of stealing his seat "in homeroom". It was a completely different crime entirely.

With that in mind; he proceeded to raise his heavy combat boots to rest on the back of her seat, bumping her forward a bit, and started listening to Three Days Grace on his IPod. She whirled around, and he looked forward for what he hoped would be a powerful explosion from the petite female.

'_I really must figure out her name.'_

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She was about to snap at him and tell him what to do with his clunky boots as she was getting rather upset now, but Tenten placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her head. Tenten handed her a piece of paper that said,

"_Don't let him goad you. Just try to ignore him for now and we'll explain some things to you at lunch. When he's not around."_

Sakura nodded her head and did her best to ignore his boots tapping that rhythm to what ever song he was listening to on her back. Class was supposed to start soon and, while the rest of the class was filing in, she wondered where the mysterious teacher was that everyone talked about. She looked towards the boy who seemed so dark and intriguing. He was sitting in his corner seat staring into space, his mind obviously elsewhere. She didn't know how long she had stared but, all of sudden; there was a jolt to her back.

'_He kicked me! I can't believe he kicked me! I've had enough, I'm not gonna put up with __**this**__ any longer.'_

'_**Sakura, stop, you heard what Tenten said. Ignore him. Maybe he'll stop if he sees that he CAN'T rile you up.'**_

'_But, he kicked me…'_

'_**Just wait. You can do it. He probably won't be in any more of your classes anyway. Think positive.'**_

'_Okay.__**'**_

_**  
"**_OI! GAARA!"

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Gaara was disappointed. He wanted to see more of the fire that was in her eyes when she was mad. He figured Temari's friends were going to tell her his reputation and she'd avoid him too. Shame, she was really starting to get interesting. Then he noticed that the focus of her attention had shifted from the incoming students to the pansy-ass in the corner.

'_Now, now, we can't have that now can we?' _ He put gave a rough nudge to her back to bring her back to Earth. Her body started to shake in what was obviously fury. _There, that's better, much better.'_

'_**Was that really necessary?'**_

'_Of course it was. Wouldn't want an innocent like her to fall prey to an obvious predator like that emo-wanabe in the corner there, would we?_

"OI! GAARA! Oh, Hi Hinata."

The loudest person on the planet walked into their homeroom at that moment, allowing Gaara to win the argument with his conscience by default. Naruto was a member of Gaara's group. He seemed like a complete idiot with no awareness of what was going on around him. In truth, he was sly as a fox and noticed a lot more than anyone would give him credit for.

For instance, the dark-haired girl sitting next to the brunette that the hyper blonde had spoken to, Hinata; she was infatuated with Naruto. Naruto knew this; he just acted like he didn't so he could see her reaction to him, blushing and fainting.

Naruto dressed similarly to Gaara, just with less black. Their entire group dressed, pretty much, the same. Naruto had a long sleeved, belly shirt, the sleeves and the top part were black and the bottom was orange. His cargo pants were black and had orange straps hanging in a random pattern. He wore a studded collar that covered his entire neck and matching wristbands. He also wore eyeliner, but not nearly as much as Gaara and had painted his nail black. He also had the strangest scars on his face, three on each cheek that made it look as though he had whiskers.

Behind him were two other members of their group, Neji and Kiba. Neji barely spared a glance at his cousin who was blushing such a new shade of red that he it wasn't a sure thing that she was breathing anymore. If Naruto didn't stop looking at her, she was probably going to faint soon. Not that he cared. He just didn't want to see such an obvious display of weakness so early in the morning. Of course, the rest of his cousin's friends had to have the same homeroom as he. He and Kiba moved towards Gaara's area and sat around him. Naruto taking the seat to Sakura's right and directly behind Hinata, Kiba sat behind Naruto and next Gaara, and Neji sat right behind Gaara.

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Tenten couldn't breathe. Neji Hyuuga was in the same homeroom as she and only two people sat between them. Oh, she had seen him a few times during the summer abut they had even talked a little. Well she had complimented him and he had insulted her. Honestly, she didn't know why she was so taken with him. He was just as bad as that stupid Gaara. He'd pick someone and torment them until they lost interest but he never tired of tormenting his cousin. Poor Hinata had been taking abuse from him since they were children. And that was what made it even more curious that Tenten was so infatuated with him, he was always hurting her friend.

Well, Tenten couldn't help that he was so damn attractive in black. Unlike the other members of his group, Neji didn't wear eyeliner, he didn't need it. His pearl eyes drew enough attention to them on their own. His long brown hair was pulled back into a low ponytail and a headband covered the top of his head and forehead. He wore a simple black T-Shirt that said "Manure Occureth" that was cut off above his abs nicely chiseled abs, black jeans, and black converses. He wore none of the wristbands and collars that his friends seemed to favor but did paint his nails black. Around his neck was a simple silver chain that held some unknown charm, hidden under his shirt.

Kiba, on the other hand, was wilder than any of them. His mess brown hair looked like it didn't know that comes exist. His eyeliner circled eyes that seemed feral, and his cheeks held tattoos of red triangles. He wore black and red trip pants and a black, patched together, brick-red vest that stopped at the same length as Gaara's shirt. It had strips of fabric and chains hanging willy-nilly everywhere. The collar he wore was more like Gaara's in that it had spikes but he also wore spiked wrist bands and had black nails. He had at least five piercings in he left ear alone and a large stud in his right ear.

Tenten was so immersed in her thoughts of Neji and his group, Gaara's actually, that she didn't notice that it was ten minutes after class was supposed to start. They had a full class but no teacher. Some of the students were grumbling to each other about how this new teacher was wasting their "valuable" time. She turned to Sakura to see how she was fairing only to see a look of utter fury on her face. It seemed that Gaara had not stopped kicking her yet and had in fact, found a faster song. As she raised her gaze to send a glare to the red-haired demon himself, her glare missed its intended target and instead hit Neji Hyuuga. Gaara had been leaning closer to the side to look out the window.

Neji raised an elegant eyebrow at her and sent her a look that asked, "You best ask yourself how much you're willing to start with me girl, before you get yourself in a mess."

Blushing furiously, Tenten turned back around, unable to do anything to really help Sakura as Gaara had earned a reputation as violent psychopath and she couldn't risk starting something here. Not with Gaara and not with Neji. She'd never be able to take both of them, Hell; she couldn't take one of them right now.

A few tense minutes later filled with furious shaking, mad blushing, Ino talking to another girl about makeup and remaining blissfully oblivious of what was happening behind her, and questions about the presence of their teacher. The door suddenly opened and in walked a silver-haired man who wore a strange cloth mask that covered his face below his eyes. He had different colored eyes, one blue the other red, and wore a simple but efficient navy suit. He was reading an orange book at which many of the guys smirked at and the girls gasped. Everyone knew that that was a volume of the famous porn series that their vice principal wrote. Few were able to hide their surprise that he would openly show such an interest.

"Sorry I'm late class, I got lost on the Path of Life. You're young, so you should understand." With that, his blue eye gave a wink. "I guess I should introduce myself, oh Sasuke good, you made it alright." Everyone looked to where the pervy teacher's focus had been redirected. A boy that no one knew was sitting in the back right corner of the classroom, ignoring the attention he was receiving. The pervert sighed, "Well, my name is Kakashi Hatake; you can call me Kaka-sensei. I'm going to be your homeroom teacher and I also teach survival classes. You may be wondering why Kage High is offering survival classes to you, well the answer is that you never know what situations you might be put in throughout your life so we might as well send you into the world prepared for the worst." He looked around to see that no one was really paying attention to him; they were all looking at his young charge. Another sigh, might as well continue and get it over with, "As long as you don't talk to loudly, start fights, or cause any other type of disruption, you can use this hour to finish any homework you have left or to socialize. As we have only just started the year, you may feel free to talk amongst yourselves. You may get up and move about but please return to your seats five minutes before class ends. I understand that these are to be your seats for the rest of the year so I encourage you to get to know the people around you." With that said the man sat at his desk and continued to read the orange book that obviously didn't belong on school grounds.

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As soon as Kaka-sensei sat at his desk, Sakura was up and standing next between Tenten and Hinata, and then sitting on Tenten's desk after she told Sakura she could. She tried to be casual as she glanced at the red head who she now knew as Gaara. He caught her look and slumped further in his seat, allowing his feet to rest completely on her chair. He returned her look with a "What you gonna do about it?" look. Sakura looked at Hinata who was extremely tense and trying to hold up her part of a conversation with the boy who sat behind her. She didn't know his name yet, nor did she know the names of the two boys who came in with him.

"Hey! Hinata, isn't it GREAT?! We're gonna sit near each other the entire year. And you heard what he said didn't you?! We can talk all hour!" Naruto's face seemed so childish but his eyes seemed to have a different motive. Sakura didn't think that Hinata noticed this though as she was to busy struggling with her stutter in her attempt to respond to the hyper blonde.

"Oh, y-y-yes I heard him N-N-N-N-Narut-to. It is g-g-great that w-we g-g-get to sit n-next t-t-t-to each other all y-year." It seemed as though those two sentences took all of Hinata's strength as she ducked her head in embarrassment as her face took on the shade of a plum. The blonde, Naruto, reached his hand out and touched her forehead, Ino's attention left her conversation and Tenten stood up quickly, reaching to stop the boy.

"Hey! Hinata! Are you okay?! You don't look so good!" Tenten was too late; Naruto's hand was resting on Hinata's forehead, feeling for a temperature.

"N-N-Naruto!" Hinata, all of a sudden, went pale and collapsed into Tenten's arms. Sakura rushed forward, she knew first aid and CPR so the first thing she did was reach down to open Hinata's heavy jacket.

Tenten stopped her, "She's fine, she's just fainted. She does that when Naruto touches her." Tenten's voice lowered to a whisper, "She has a crush on him." She told Kaka-Sensei that Hinata was alright and asked if she could take her to the nurse's office to get some smelling salts. He gave the okay and asked the class to return to their seats as there were it was near the end of class.

Sakura stood in front of her seat and stared at the boots occupying it. "Could you, please, move your feet?" She asked nicely, politely, patiently, they were still tapping out a rhythm in her seat. He couldn't say it was his anymore because the teacher said that that was where she was sitting all year, therefore, it was her seat. He probably hadn't heard her as his music was so loud and he probably didn't even know she was back as he was staring out the window.

'_But that would have him looking somewhat forward, so he should be able to see me in the corner of his eye. Seriously, my hair's pink, how do you not see that?!'_

If she let it slide now, this was going to continue all year. Sakura was not going to put up with this all year. She reached down, grabbed his feet and pushed them off of her chair, sat down, whirled around, and said **"If you place one more body part on MY seat again, I'm gonna cut if off!" **Gaara's eyes narrowed and he glared at her but didn't say a word nor did he lift his heavy boots to the back of her seat again.

She didn't know where that had come from; she wasn't the type to say such things. But then, she probable just remembered someone saying it at the dojo she's learning to fight at. When she turned back around, she saw everyone but Ino shift their gaze away from her. Ino herself looked as though she had seen a ghost.

Just when Sakura was about to ask what was wrong, the bell rang and they were dismissed from class. The teacher left as well saying that he had forgotten something. He probably just needed the next book in his lecherous series. As she got up, all of the other students were quickly filing out, they were afraid that Gaara would lose it on them if he wasn't already on the pinkette.

Ino gave Sakura a worry-filled glance, "Sakura, I've got to go to my Biology class. It's the opposite way. You're art class with Ms. Mitarashi is right down the hall where we showed you. Get there fast and Hinata should be there soon, she has the same class and she should be waking up now." She looked behind the pinkette, that same expression on her face, and whispered quietly, "Stay away from Gaara, he's dangerous." Ino looked as though she was going to wait and walk Sakura to her class, but Science classes were on the other side of the building. She turned to walk away but another student was blocking her chosen exit. It was the wild looking boy who had sat next to Gaara.

"Ino!" How come you didn't sit next to me? I've been missing you." He let a puppy-like pout take over his face. It looked like Ino was going to melt but Sakura wasn't paying attention anymore.

Gaara had pulled her into his lap, where all of his freezing-cold chains found every bare inch of her body. He leaned down so that his raspy voice would only be heard by her ears, "_Sakura_, hn, I should have guessed it. You know, you really shouldn't threaten people you don't know, you never know who has a tendency to forgive and who has a tendency to maim." Sakura, who had been struggling and trying to get out of his grip, suddenly froze. Was this what Tenten and Ino were hinting at, that this Gaara guy was violent and wouldn't put up with her for long? He chuckled in her ear. "Oh, come one, I liked it when you wiggled. I'll tell you what, I'll let you go, but this is your second offense to me. One more and I'll have decide what I'm gonna break." He let her go and watch as she grabbed her stuff and Ino's arm, who was still arguing with Kiba, and quickly left the room.

"You gonna make this'un last all year or burn her out like Yuki?" Neji sat behind him simply leaning back and enjoying the show. He had heard what Gaara said to the girl, it really was one his more moderate warnings. For some reason, he was going easy on the girl. Anyone else would have been on their way to hospital for touching him but all he did was glare at this girl. It made little sense and it wasn't his business. Let his friend have his fun.

Naruto looked up from the notebook that he had been writing in and said, "You know, that girl seems familiar, I think I've seen her somewhere before." The blonde looked down and went back to writing. As though it were an after thought spoken aloud, the blonde whispered, "I don't think she likes you Gaara. In fact, I'm willing to bet that she's a tiny bit scared of you now."

Gaara smirked at his friend. Why he allowed himself to enjoy their company, he didn't know. He used to hate being around people but him and these guys had something in common; people feared them, even Naruto who wouldn't hurt a fly if he didn't have to.

There was a screech as a chair scooted back. Gaara glared at the emo-wanabe making his way towards him and his group. "What do you want pretty-boy?"

He simply stood there staring at them. Then, without a word, turned towards the door and left. "Freak." Kiba didn't like this guy. There was something off about him. Oh well, didn't really matter.

The guys slowly went their separate ways, in no hurry to reach their next classes. Gaara and Naruto's was right down the hall anyway. As they slowly worked their way through a throng of socializing students, all of whom did their best to avoid them, he thought about what he would do if he found Bubble Gum in his seat again. He could always break her bones after school, he'd done that before, but that didn't seem to suit her. He had forced one unfortunate victim to participate in a street race. The poor fool had no experience what-so-ever. He almost died in the pile up that at the first turn.

'_No, I'll have to think of something special for her.'_

He remembered Yuki. Oh that was a work of art. She wasn't anything like this Sakura girl. More like Hinata. Timid and weak. She was afraid of him from the start, so afraid that she couldn't move if she saw him. She was broken, inside and out, long before he was done with her. Something like that might work for Bubble Gum. He'd have to alter it a bit, but it might work.

He entered his next class room, another member of his group right behind him and Naruto. Shikamaru was their age but he was in mostly Honors classes since the normal ones held no challenge for him. Hell, the Honors classes barely kept him awake. His black hair was pulled up at the top of his head and spike out, it made his head look like a pineapple. He had chopped up black T-shirt on that said, "I'm not shy, I'm just carefully analyzing my prey." All of the guys wore their shirts like this, cut above the abs. He wore a pair of black cargo pants and grey converses. He had a choker on that had a cross dangling from it. His nails were black and his eyes were rimmed with eyeliner. Apparently he had decided it was too "troublesome" this morning. Gaara didn't remember when they had all decided to do that. It didn't matter though.

They walked into the class room and Gaara stopped in the entrance. He stared at middle seat in front of the middle window. Pink.

'_Didn't I warn her? I recall warning her. What is she thinking?!'_

'_**That she couldn't possible have two classes in a row with you? That she wouldn't see you in her ART class, the art class that you were tricked into taking?' **_

'_She should be so afraid of me that she doesn't even consider sitting near that seat!'_

Anko Mitarashi walked up behind him. "Mr. Subaku no, is there something you need? Or are you just barricading my door for shits-and- giggles?"

He walked in and noticed that, behind Sakura was the girl Hinata and in front of her was another student. The chair to her right, however, was empty. The tables in this room sat two people and were only there for the start and end of class. During actual class time, they would all go to the back of the room where there were easels and the like. The empty chair next the pinkette had the potential to be **right** next to the pinkette. He stalked over, ignoring the start of Anko-sensei's welcoming speech. Sakura looked over and saw him approaching. He leaned down and said in her ear, for her to hear only, "Third offense, you're mine now." He sat in the empty seat next to her and gave some of his attention to the teacher's rant on how they should all try to get along since they would have to be teamed up with each other on weekly collaborative projects. Their partners would be the one sharing the table with them.

Gaara looked over at her to see she had ducked her head but was unable to hide her wide eyes. Hinata looked up at Sakura in worry but couldn't find it in her to worry for too long as she realized who her partner was. Naruto leaned on the table and started rambling on about how great it was that they'd get to work with each other every week, all semester. Hinata began to blush and started to feel woozy but fought the urge to faint again. Oh it was going to be a long semester.


	5. Interlude One

This chapter is going to be a bit short but it is a means to an end

**This chapter is going to be a bit short but it is a means to an end. I get the feeling that I am getting a bit scattered but I think that this is all going to come together in the end. If not, I soory.**

**Disclaimer: I, ****Amthyst Rose Dracoanias****, do not in any way own Naruto, his friends, or his world. If I did, Tobi would show up a lot sooner in the anime.**

_She had been one of the most beautiful girls he had ever seen._ _Long black hair that fell to her shins, he had spent many sleepless nights just running his hands through it, feeling how soft and silky it was. In the right light, there was a green tint to her hair. That green tint would always make her red eyes seem feral. He didn't know how it did, but it did. He had loved her red eyes. She always wore miniskirts for him, giving him plenty of leg to consider throughout his day. And, after the first blouse he tore apart to strip her down, she would wear zip-up vests. _

_She used to be a good girl. She would wear overalls and long sleeved shirts. What skin she did show was covered in grease from her projects. She would take a bunch of broken cars, mix the parts, and come out with as many working cars as broken cars went in. She was brilliant and had a knack for mathematics and the sciences that not even the Nara family possessed. She was creative and inventive. She wanted to become an engineer and design ships, shuttles, automobiles, anything so long as she could design it and make it herself. She was perfect._

_You'd of never guessed that she was a girl except for the hair. No male could have hair like that, not even Haku. God he had loved changing her. It took a long time, three years. Another thing you'd of never guessed was the pressure that her parents had placed on her to succeed. There was no other option. She HAD to be perfect. Her father would interrogate her at dinner about her day and ask what was wrong with her that she couldn't do better. Her mother hated her for surpassing her in beauty. She was practically begging for affection from someone, anyone. Affection that he gave her, affection that she accepted, even if it was a double-edged sword._

_His first year of middle school had been spent watching her. Seventh grade was spent getting close to her. It took time because she knew of his reputation. Everyone knew of his reputation. Eighth grade was spent making the changes and molding her into his own creation. She had to be ready for his plan. _

_He had chosen her because everyone knew her, everyone loved her, and everyone would remember her. Her parents were important people in the community and hosted many charities, charities that he escorted her to. He had seemed the misunderstood delinquent seeking reform all the while he was "reforming" everyone's little angel. Her ordeal would serve as an announcement of his presence in the new high school._

_He had introduced her to sex. She took to it the exact way that he had intended, she had become addicted. She would sneak out of her house, out of class, out of church; she'd come running to beg him to touch her. He would always oblige. He also introduced her to alcohol. She had a strangely strong taste for bourbon and couldn't stand vodka. Her body never reacted well to it. _

_It was in their freshman year that people noticed the bruises on her exposed skin. The dark circles around her eyes eliminated any need for eyeliner. She had started to bite her nails. Her perfect grades began to fail. She had no interest in her academics. Becoming an engineer was no longer appealing. She was only interested in him. She would follow him around like a puppy dog, begging for the slightest bit of attention. _

_After Christmas break, she came back to school with her hair hacked off. That was the only way anyone could describe it because that was exactly what happened. He had dragged her into his room by that long beautiful hair. He tied her to the bed and secured her head so that she had to look at the ceiling where there was a mirror. She had thought that he was just feeling kinky that night. That was what she though, until she saw the knife. _

_He slowly unzipped the vest that she wore for him and traced the kanji that he had tattooed to his forehead onto her stomach. Her stomach was nearly nonexistent, she'd become anorexic at the start of the school year when he had remarked on the baby fat clinging to her ribs. He waited until she done sobbing to start on his intended task. The kanji was just something he did on a whim. He took the knife and, making sure she was watching in the mirror, grabbed a hunk of her long, beautiful hair that he loved to touch, and jerked the knife through it. The sobs began again and, once again, he waited until she was done to continue. It took all night to finish. In the morning, as the sun rose above the horizon and shined on the city, highlighting the colorful paints on the apartment buildings that surrounded his own complex, he forced her to watch as he burned her hair. She seemed to be in a state of shock for several hours. He stared her in the eye for about thirty minutes before commanding her to do nothing with her hair. He told her to leave as it was and let everyone see how ugly she really was._

_Despite the fact that he tortured her physically and mentally every chance he got, she still hung around. He was the only thing that she had left to cling to. Everything else in her life was unstable and the only thing that she could count on to always be there anymore was the pain that he provided her. A few weeks after he cut her hair, when the entire school realized what was happening, he told her to meet him in the parking lot. He was going to break up with her. He had grown tired of the game he was playing and felt that his point had been made. No one would ever underestimate him. _

_When he told her that they were through, she got on her knees and begged him to take it back. She promised that she'd be better if he would just take it back. Her red eyes were wide and more feral than he had ever seen them. He was destroying her world. He was taking away her last reason to live, the only thing that let her feel as though she existed. She grabbed his arm and kept begging, crying the entire down, but still he walked away. _

_She had somehow found her way home. She went into the medicine cabinet that all of the pills her doctors had prescribed for her were stored. She never took them. She told her parents that she didn't need them, she had __**him**__. That day, she took every one of those pills. She took the entire bottle for her anorexia. She took all three bottles of anti-depressants. She swallowed the entire bottle of migraine medicine that was prescribed for the migraines she would get from the anorexia medication. The two bottles of painkillers that were in the cabinet were also added to her cocktail. Finally to top it all of, she drank an entire bottle of bourbon. It was in the ninth grade that he killed Yuki Nagashi._

**I really hope that made sense. I'll try to have another chapter up soon.**


	6. Chapter 5

Sakura had always enjoyed art

Sakura had always enjoyed art. Her mother had signed her up for several correspondence courses with various colleges and universities, courses that she excelled in. She had taken them in middle school though so they wouldn't count for anything in high school which meant that she'd have to take Basic Drawing again to be able to take more advanced courses.

When she walked into the classroom, the teacher was in the back arranging paints and acrylics. Sakura offered her help but the woman said that she was almost done. When she finally came out of the maze of easels and tables, Sakura was able to get a better look at the enigma that was Anko Mitarashi.

Her violet hair was pulled up into a high ponytail and seemed to defy gravity as it spiked up. She was wearing a white T-shirt tucked into a pair of faded blue jeans. Both articles of clothing were splattered with paints of various colors. She walked over to her desk and grabbed a tan trench coat.

She looked up at Sakura and said, "Why don't you find a seat, I've got to grab some things for today's class before the rest get here." She stopped at the door and gave Sakura a once-over. She seemed to be considering something. "You know, that is an interesting shade of pink. Not quite pastel but not too far from it. I like it." And then she left. Sakura was left to wonder about that comment.

_Why do people have to notice the hair first? I've tried dying it. It just washes right out. And if it's not the hair, it's the forehead. _

_**Which she said nothing about. And she didn't say that your hair was weird or strange or anything. In fact, if I recall correctly, she complimented your hair. She said that it was interesting and that she liked it.**_

_Yeah, I guess._

"Sak-k-k-ura?" Hinata, who was still a little flushed from her previous status, stood in the doorway. "I-is s-somet-thing wrong?"

Sakura looked up and gave her what she hoped was her 10,000 kilowatt smile. "Nope! Nothings wrong. I was just thinking about stuff. So, when are you going to tell me what the deal is with that blonde?"

Hinata started to blush again. "N-n-n-naruto is j-just a friend of m-m-my c-c-c-cousin's. I see him around a lot." She moved further into the room and sat a desk, a desk that was in front of one of those seats. The middle seat next to the middle window.

_Hmph. I highly doubt __**he's**__ gonna show up in here to complain about me taking his seat. He really is childish, getting so worked up over a stupid seat. _

Sakura took the seat in front of Hinata, even though she could have sat next to her; there was something about this seat that gave her a sense of satisfaction.

_That'll show him._

"So, tell me about this, Naruto, guy." Sakura didn't know anything about guys or dating or even what it was like to have a crush on someone, but she had a feeling that a good friend would ask this

Hinata looked up and a hopeful light entered her sweet pearl eyes as she looked at her new friend. "W-w-well, N-n-art-to has b-been friends with my c-c-cousin, N-n-neji, since w-w-we w-w-were little. He n-n-never t-t-t-teased m-me ab-b-bout my eyes. N-n-no one t-t-t-teased N-n-neji, b-but he has always b-b-been s-s-strong." Hinata looked down; Sakura could tell that she felt ashamed of something. "I-i-I've always b-b-been w-w-weak. N-n-n-neji t-t-tries t-to help m-me b-but it is n-n-n-no use. Only N-n-narut-to has b-been able t-to help m-me b-b-bec-come strong-ger. W-w-ell, N-n-narut-to and the g-g-g-girls." Hinata looked up again and smiled. It was a beautiful smile.

Sakura was about to attempt to comfort Hinata when the door to the room opened up. A young man came in and Sakura couldn't help thinking that he was gorgeous. A bit in need of sunlight but the paleness seemed to suit him. It was obvious however, who his friends were. His straight, jet black hair was cut short and hung in his eyes a bit. His eyes were not wringed with eyeliner, but his lips were black and formed a strange smile. The kind you give to people you don't like but have to be polite to. His shirt that stopped above his abs was grey on the bottom, black on the top, and had one long sleeve on the right and one short sleeve on the left. His black slacks had been adorned with silver chains. They stopped at his black combat boots. Like the rest of his group, he had painted his nails black, not that the rest of his hands weren't covered in ink and charcoal enough already. Around his neck was a black choker along with several thin chains with a variety of pendants. His left arm had a red stained bandages that covered his arm from his elbow to his wrist. Sakura hoped that those stains weren't from blood, that it was just a joke.

He spared her a glance and then took his seat in the middle of the back row and proceeded to ignore them. With him there though, Sakura was hesitant to talk about anything personal with Hinata, she didn't want to say anything at all around a friend of Gaara's. Hinata seemed to share her sentiments so they started up a conversation about what each thought Ms. Mitarashi was going to assign the class.

Their conversation continued as more students came in. Most of them sat in the middle area of the classroom but one approached the girls. Sakura glanced at the student and didn't know if she was looking at a boy or a girl. The person's face was beautiful and had a feminine look but there their chin seemed more masculine. Their hair did nothing to help Sakura, as it was longer than her own. It was a chestnut brown; the kind that you just can't package but you wish you could because everyone would want to be a brunette if they could have that shade of brown, and was pulled into a ponytail high on his/her head with two locks hanging in front of his/her face. The person's clothes were of calm colors; a long-sleeved white shirt, a pale green Asian-style vest, and navy blue slacks. The clothes weren't baggy; in fact, they clung to the person's figure and showed no evidence of feminine charms. Sakura decided to go with the assumption that this person was male. A very pretty male.

She and Hinata watched as he took the seat in front of Sakura. After he sat down, he turned to her and introduced himself. "Good morning, I do not believe we have met before. My name is Haku. Are you new to the area?" He seemed so polite and nice and perfect. All she could do was blush until Hinata poked her shoulder.

"Oh! Sorry, I'm Sakura Haruno. I've actually lived in the area my whole life; I was just homeschooled since second grade. It's a pleasure to meet you." She held out her hand to shake his but instead he took it and brought his lips to her skin. He gave the back of her hand a feathery kiss and said,

"I thought it strange I hadn't seen you, after all, how could anyone forget a head of pink hair. It suits you very well you know, you're quite pretty. It is a pleasure to meet you Ms. Haruno. I hope we will both get along in the future."

She took her hand back and just sat there, dazed. He had turned back around and she just stared at the back of his head, at the cascade of beautiful brown hair that begged her to reach out and touch it. She heard Hinata giggle at her.

_Is this how Hinata feels around Naruto? Well, obviously her reactions are more serious but she's had years to feel the way she does. I'm probably just overreacting, I mean seriously, Haku is the only guy I've met so far that hasn't ignored me or been a part of Gaara's group._

Sakura's thoughts about the beautiful boy sitting in front of her, the beautiful boy who showed interest in her, who thought she was pretty, who liked her pink hair, were interrupted. The source of the interruption was the sound of chains jingling, boots stomping, and a warm body pressed up against hers. Any attempt to listen to Ms. Mitarashi's lecture went out the window.

_HOW CAN HE POSSIBLY BE IN MY ART CLASS?! WHY IS HE SITTING NEXT TO ME?! I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS! OH MY—wait, what did he say. _

_**He said, "Third offense, you're mine now."**_

_How can you say that so calmly?_

_**More importantly, you might want to move before Ms. Mitarashi records this as your permanent seat. Do you really think you can stand being near him two classes in a row? And what about those weekly collaborations? Do you think that you can handle cooperating with him for something like that?**_

_You're right! I'll get up and sit next to Hinata! Or even better, I'll ask Haku if I can sit next to him!_

When Sakura tried to make her escape however, she realized that the desk was pressed right up against the wall. The only way out was for Gaara to get up first. She glanced over at him to see a smirk on his face.

_He'd let me up if he could have the seat, right? _

_**Does "Third offense, you're mine now" ring any bells? He has it in for you. Go ahead try asking him to move. He won't do it.**_

"Look, I'm sorry; I hadn't realized that you were in this class as well. How about I get up and you can have this seat?" She looked at him with all the cuteness she could muster, hoping that he would move.

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_She really thinks that she can get out of this by being…cute? Does she have any idea what he is capable of?_

_**No, she doesn't. Why don't you just get up and let her move? She's apologized and, most likely, won't sit in any of your favorite spots for the rest of her life. So, just move you feet to the right and stand up, step back and wait for her to move. Then, you can sit in your precious spot.**_

"No."

_**Stubborn Fool. I Give Up.**_

"What, pray tell, is so interesting that you two are ignoring your first assignment?" Anko Mitarashi was known to be eccentric and often twiddled with an art knife when she was irritated. Gaara didn't feel like dealing with her tendencies, at the moment, he had his own tendencies to see to.

Gaara wrapped an arm around the pinkette's shoulder, "Just getting to know each other better sensei. After all, we will be seeing a lot of each other now. Won't we, Sakura?"

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Anko-sensei glared at the red-haired punk smirking up at her, knowing that whatever interest he had in the pretty new girl was not a healthy interest. She resolved to keep an eye on the two and do whatever she could for her.

"Well, why don't you save the socializing for after you've made me three sketches of a group of buildings, I don't care if you make the subject up or if you use buildings you can see out the windows. I want you to use cut paper, crosshatching, and rubbed textures. If any of you have questions about the tools needed, the techniques, or the paper; I'll be at my desk."

Anko spared one last glance at the punk and the new girl before going to her desk. She glanced up every now and then to see how the class was doing, particularly the two next to the middle window. At least the punk let her get up to get supplies. She was starting to think he was glued to his seat as well as the girl's thigh.

Unfortunately, school policy states that the seats that students are sitting in will be their seat for the rest of the semester as soon as the first class starts. The girl or the Subaku punk would have to approach her and request a seat change. Anko would then have to take the request to Principal Tsunade. By the time the request was approved, the boy would already have his claws sunk into the pinkette. She highly doubted that Subaku would ask for a change in the seating arrangement and the girl would probably be too afraid of him or what the other students would say about it if she requested it. And, considering she had never seen the girl before, the pinkette probably didn't even know that she could request a change in seating.

Anko had seen what the boy could do to a girl, short-term and long-term. He had a preference for creative students. Yuki Nagashi had been her pride and joy, her most talented student. Anko was going to introduce her to some representatives of some private art schools, schools that would open the doors leading to the engineering career she dreamed of. And then Gaara Subaku no happened destroyed her. No one could find any evidence to his part in her death. Oh, they saw the cuts and the bruises; everyone knew how the poor girl's hair had been hacked off and who did it. But they had no evidence. The cuts were and bruises were in places that she could have reached. The police said that the girl was self destructive. They said that she inflicted her own injuries.

Still, Anko would never forgive the bastard for what he had done. She'd do what she could for this new girl.

"Umm, Anko-sensei. I've finished the assignment." Anko looked up at the pink-haired girl then down at the three sheets of paper she had in her hand. The cut paper and crosshatch were done on a plain sheet of white printing paper. The rubbed texture was done on newsprint paper. She hadn't asked what supplies to use or for advice on technique. One glance at the three pieces and Anko knew that they were perfect.

She looked at the back of one of the pieces, _Sakura Haruno, it suits her_.

"Well, Sakura, you've done impeccably well in a short amount of time. Seeing as how you have another half hour of class left, how would you like to work on some extra credit? You won't have to finish it before the end of class. I'd just like to see the extent of your artistic abilities."

Sakura's face lit up, "You mean I can do something more advanced?"

Anko considered it, "As long as you finish the assignments for this class first, I'll give you work from my Advance Drawing class, yes. So, how are you with plant life?"

Sakura's smile grew as all thoughts of red-haired tormenters flew from her mind and were replaced by the challenge Anko was presenting her.

Anko smiled back, "Tell you what; give me a sketch, just a pencil sketch on newsprint paper, combining plant life and lifeless buildings. Can you do that?"

The girl just nodded her head and walked to the back to get a few pieces of paper. Anko was happy to see that, instead of going back to the desk where she would have to sit next to that crazed punk, she sat at one of the tables in the back to think on her new assignment. Aside from Sai, Sakura was the first student to finish. There was another one of her prodigies. This one however, garnered no pride from her, as he was thoroughly loyal to that bastard. She had had so many expectations for him, but then that Gaara had corrupted him, gotten him addicted to causing pain. That Gaara was like a parasite that infected everything and everyone he touched. Even the Uzumaki boy was not immune to his games. Such a nice boy, at least the extent of his manipulations was to simply give poor Hinata something to focus on. Something to help her strive for improvement. One of these days, Anko would find away to get rid of that wretch, Gaara Subaku no, once and for all. One of these days, she would save her students from him. She won't allow this new girl, so full of potential, to be broken like Yuki.


	7. Chapter 6

Sakura hadn't finished the extra assignment that Anko-sensei had given her by the end of class, but she wanted to take her time on it anyway and give it her all

**Unkey-Dorey! I finished another chapter. I got to think now about how I'm gonna do the confrontation in the next class. If she sits in the same spot again, she'll just seem stupid. So. I guess I'll just have to get creative. LOL Please enjoy.**

Sakura hadn't finished the extra assignment that Anko-sensei had given her by the end of class, but she wanted to take her time on it anyway and give it her all. She had learned that the boy who sat close to Anko-sensei's desk was called Sai. He was considered to be the most talented artist this school had ever seen. Sakura also learned that he had a knack for insulting people.

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"_Didn't you already finish your assignment?"_

_Sakura looked up to see the pale young man who must have been in Gaara's group from the looks of him but she still gave him a polite smile and gave him a reply. _

"_Oh, well, Anko-sensei said that I could do a more advanced assignment since there's time. And you? Didn't you finish the assignment long before I did? And with much better quality no less."_

"_Of course, Ugly, could you expect anything less? Or do you fancy yourself my equal Bubble-Head?"_

_Sakura had always been easily offended and hurt. The only thing that had improved since she was little was her ability to hide it. Little things that most people would brush off, steam over and then discard, or simply ignore were blown up in her world and triggered the most extreme reactions. She had been determined to be polite and give the boy the benefit of the doubt; she had been hoping that he wasn't like Gaara and wouldn't be rude to her for minor offenses. Then it hit her…_

_Not only had he called her ugly, he hadn't said Bubble Gum like she thought he had. He said Bubble-Head. There was only one thing that could have invoked a reaction from her in a public area anymore, only one thing brought everyone of her insecurities to the surface, only one thing that her mother swears wasn't a problem anymore; her forehead._

_It was the only thing that he could have meant when he called her Bubble-Head. It was the only thing anyone ever noticed when they decided to make fun of her. Her mother swears that she'd grown into it but every time Sakura looked in the mirror, __**it**__ was there. Sakura used to muse that her very loud conscience (what else could it be?) lived in her oversized forehead. She still did sometimes._

_She pulled herself real close to him, that same polite smile attached to her face._

"_**Your pasty ass better start walkin' away before I kick it to Belize you talentless clown!"**_

_Once again, she found herself saying something that she never would have said before. And in the same day no less, no worse, it had been within the same two hours. _

_The pale young man raised an immaculate eyebrow at her before slowly walking his "pasty ass" back to his seat in the back row, still to close for her liking. As Sakura watched him she noticed that her red haired tormenter was watching her with actual interest with his head cocked to the side. If he hadn't expressed severe interest in her suffering, she would have blushed. As it was, she felt like a lab rat being studied by the sinister, mad scientist. She didn't like it and she wanted it to stop. Luckily for her, she didn't have to sit at her desk to complete her assignment; there were tables in the back of the room that she could sit at without having to be studied like some animal._

She had just finished with the main subject of her sketch when Anko-sensei told the class that it was time to pack up. Sakura sighed and looked down at the old farmhouse that she had drawn. Later, she'd draw wild rose bushes climbing its walls and taking over. The neat, dirt path leading to the front door would be overgrown with weeds and the like. The fence in the back would be lost to the crops the previous inhabitants had once kept tame. She was quite proud of it so far and she'd have no problem picking up where she left off on it later.

And then **he** had come to stand next her, over her, looking down on her. He was staring at her again. Just staring. After he had been so rude to her, attempted and succeeded in scaring her, and threatened her health; he was just standing over her and staring. She suddenly feared that it was his forehead that he was staring at.

_**Calm down Sakura. You've grown into your forehead quite well. It is actually rather common for beautiful people to have awkward features in childhood.**_

_Yeah, but I'm not beautiful. So your little theory about my forehead goes right down the drain. It's big and it's there for the entire world to see and let me tell you, it's big enough for the entire world to see at once. _

_**It's no use trying to convince you. You never did listen.**_

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Gaara had figured that she would stay away from him once she realized that she didn't have to return to her seat, to him. The seats were only ever used for the start of class announcements. He decided to while away his boredom by actually doing the assignment. He decided to use the structures in Suna as his subjects. Whether Anko wants to admit it or not, Gaara was on par with Sai when it came to art. She never would admit it though, because that would mean that he was better than Yuki had been.

The reason he had never taken the art classes was simply because he didn't need them and it would have been a waste of his time and talent. Now, destruction, that is pure art, to take something that is whole and slowly break it down until there's nothing left. To him, that was art. He looked at Sakura to see how she was faring and if she was racking her imagination for a subject like everyone else in the room. She wasn't. She was done. She was walking back to the paper supply and taking out more newsprint. And then Sai, who was also going to the paper supply, went to stand next to her.

If it had been any other guy, Gaara would have been up and over there. But Sai, he knew that Sakura could hold no interest for Sai. Sai however, would insult her and demean her every chance he got. It was one of his charms. He had some sort of knack for making people lose control of themselves. He had even gotten Naruto to let go of Stupid Oaf act long enough to calmly tell the artist off. It had taken five days for Sai to figure what was that Naruto had said to him and when he did, he was livid. Gaara didn't know what Naruto had said, but it had been said with such composure that its meaning in the language he spoke it in was difficult to translate. It was some sort of Asian language where there are a hundred meanings for every word that were given through tone of voice and placement. That Naruto knew of this languages existence would have knocked anyone fool enough to say they knew him out for months. That Naruto could actually speak this language fluently along with many others was something that would have sent even Tsunade to grave.

Gaara was jolted from his musings when he saw Sakura pull herself up close to Sai. He saw her large, emerald eyes narrow into a vicious glare. He saw her talking to him and noticed that Sai was squaring his shoulders. Sai didn't have many obvious reactions signs that he was agitated, but Gaara noticed that he always squared his shoulders before setting his sights on someone, and Sai didn't know that Sakura was his.

Sai however, didn't say a word to her. He just walked back to his seat. Gaara was quite interested in what she had said. He felt his head tilt to the side as he regarded her. She was something else. A complete and utter oxymoron.

She was confident, but at same the time, she was insecure.

She was beautiful, but at the first glance, she was insignificant.

She was obviously smart, but she obviously didn't have a clue. It was as though certain lessons that everyone learned throughout life had not been in her curriculum.

Her appearance was bright and her personality seemed bright, but there was something dark in her eyes. Something she would never tell. Something that held the key to her destruction. Something that he wanted to know.

Gaara decided to see how she was doing, to check on her, to make sure she didn't think that she was safe all the way back there.

He walked up next to her, so quietly that she didn't know he was there until he was breathing into her ear.

He stood there, close to her, just staring. He could imagine running his hands through her pink hair, much like he had done with Yuki's. He could also imagine chopping it off with no particular style in mind like he had done with Yuki's hair.

No. He wouldn't do that to Sakura. That was for Yuki and only Yuki. Sakura deserved something else. He'd have to come up with something later.

He felt like some cheesy romantic for even thinking it but, her eyes could have been the subject of a hundred poems on their own. Part of him wondered what put the sadness there. Parts of him wondered how those eyes held so much sadness but were still filled to the brim with happiness, optimism, trust, and hope. That part of him was often the part of him that chastised his actions so he decided to shove those thoughts out of his head.

Those eyes had gotten a new look in them. It was a far off look that said that she was focused on someone other than him. He didn't like it. He came here to impress upon her the reality of her situation and she wasn't even paying attention.

He smirked down at her. He would get her attention, one way or another. He slowly moved even closer to her, making sure not to pull her out of her daydreaming. He lifted a hand to her face and tilted his head to the side and finished closing the distance.

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He wasn't looking at her forehead anymore. Nope, he was looking her right in the eyes, watching them widen with shock. She couldn't believe it. She may have never had a boyfriend, but she wanted a boyfriend, and she had seen movies. Her first kiss was supposed to be something special, shared between her and her first love. Not to be shared between her and this excuse for a human.

She tried to break away from him but he wouldn't let her. His hand on the side of her face moved to her neck, ensuring that she would be unable to move her head. His other hand snaked around her waist, pulling her closer to him, as if that were possible.

He pulled away from her to whisper something in her ear, "Mine."

She had opened her mouth, taking the opportunity he had given her to let the scathing words that had been building up out at him. But her plans were foiled when he pulled her in again and this time, thrust his tongue into her mouth. The foreign organ tried to excite her own tongue and engage it in some sort of wrestling contest, but she wouldn't cooperate.

She wasn't happy. A good word to describe her at this moment was probably homicidal. This bastard was playing with her, she knew it. He was playing a game that she didn't know the rules to, a game that had high stakes, and a game that she was not ready to play.

His tongue was halfway down her throat when, suddenly, he pulled away from her. Well, he pulled his mouth away, the rest of her was still being held quite close to his body. As attractive as that body was, the personality was a price too high to pay to be close to that body.

While Sakura struggled to get away from him, her peripheral vision caught her savior, Anko-sensei. The woman looked furious.

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Anko looked up and saw that Gaara was no longer in his seat. He was approaching Sakura in the back of the room where she had decided to work. She knew he was going slowly but it seemed to happen so fast. He was kissing her and she was fighting him before Anko thought to stand.

_It's happening again. He's going to tear her to pieces. How dare he do this in front of me? I know I warned him. _

Anko looked over at the Hyuuga girl sitting next to the Uzamaki boy. He was talking to her about how hard the assignment was, how she wouldn't have a problem with it. Despite the amount of attention he was giving her, Anko saw that he was watching Gaara too. He was distracting Hinata from her friend. Haku was intent on his sketch but was obviously agitated. He had seen them in the back. She had had a feeling that Haku might be attracted to the pink-haired girl. That probably wasn't going to be healthy for her either. And Sai, he was close to the two in the back, and he had a smile on his face. Not the polite smile, he had the smile that he reserved for people who caught his interest. Also not healthy for the pinkette.

Anko had had enough. She got up and strode over to the back of the room and tapped Gaara on the shoulder. He immediately stopped kissing Sakura and glared at her. She knew that he didn't like anyone touching him unless he initiated the contact. It was why the students made a path for him when he walked through the halls.

Unfortunately, while the disturbance broke the kiss, it did not cause him to release Sakura. If anything, he held her closer, he had a wild and possessive look in his eye.

"Subaku. This is a respectable school. My classroom follows the rules and policies of this school. As such, if you want to make-out with someone, do it after school and off school grounds. Not in my classroom. In fact," she reached out and quickly grabbed Sakura's, "not with Haruno-san either." He let her go; he didn't really have a choice. But the smile on his face almost made her falter. Anko had to admit, she was a little afraid of him. Only a little.

Thankfully, that was when the bell rang. The students brought their sketches to her desk as she walked the pinkette to the door. She was still shocked and more than a little outraged.

"Get to your class quickly and avoid anyone who even looks like they are a part of Gaara's little group." The girl nodded her head. Anko took a deep breath, "What's your next class?"

Sakura frowned while she thought about it. "Biology with Orochimaru-sensei. I think."

Anko sighed, she knew for a fact that Gaara had the same class. She had set up his schedule. She had hoped that, by putting him in classes with teachers who knew what he was alike, they could change him. But this girl hadn't figured into their calculations.

"What do you have after that?"

The girl was giving her a scared look. It was like she knew why Anko had sighed, like she knew that there was a dangerous young male who would be torturing her all day. "Gym with Gai-Sensei. Then I have lunch. And then Calculus with Ibiki-sensei. And then Survival Studies with Kaka-sensei. Anko-sensei, why do you want to know?"

"If Gaara continues to bother you, I want you to tell you teachers immediately. Orochimaru-san will probably act like a prick but he'll at least tell one of us if you tell him. Alright?" She looked down at the girl, trying her hardest to make it seem like everything was alright despite the actual danger the girl was in.

_Gods! Why can't we just get rid of him already? We may not have evidence of his involvement in Yuki's death, but there was plenty of evidence connecting him to other student's accidents and he openly harasses students. The humiliations of some students have almost become daily events. How did all of this happen? This school has always had the best reputation and now one boy threatens to destroy the entire place. _

Anko went to her desk to look over the sketches while she waited for her next class to start. As she did, she passed Gaara on his way out. He didn't look at her and she didn't look at him. Her hatred for him went deeper than any of the other teachers understood. They all knew the Yuki had been her pride and joy; what they didn't know, or did but chose to forget, was that Gaara had been her pride and joy along with Yuki. The two had been her best students. The three of them were close, often having lunch together in this very classroom, discussing current events and how they affected each other's dreams. And then Gaara had betrayed them both.

Anko looked at the sketch he had turned in. It was beautiful. It was of short, squat houses with domed roofs and circular windows. There was sand blowing on the wind, across a deserted street. In the back of the scene, he had sketched the building that housed Suna's government, Kazekage Tower. She wished that she could bring herself to fail him, but his work was just so good that she couldn't do it. No one would blame her, in fact, they expected it.

Anko sighed to herself again, it seemed to be addictive. The only thing she could do was hope Sakura made it through the day without injury. Anko's hands were tied by rules, policies, and ethics. All she could do for Sakura now, is keep him off of the girl in her classroom.

**I hoped you liked it. I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed for me. It helps a lot. **

Xotina, rosi4ka1706, USWeasilgirl, Alymora, soccercrazyfreak, BluePanda22311, SeraphimLullaby, Babyvampire16, mk-chan160, RandomReader007, AlaskenWildflower, CrazyCat95, sami, Cherry-chan13, xHinata Uchihax, GaarasGuardian, Wannabeanimefangirl, Chaidrin, Wolf of the Sands, X.LazY.ChaoS.X, lilmissmex3, ChasingProse, elemental heiress, Hakumei-Tenshi, XxKiraKojimaxX, XdarkwolfgirlzX.


	8. Chapter 7

**Sorry that it has taken me so long to update. However, I have good news. I GOT A JOB!! It took me long enough! I am now working at a daycare with some kids who don't listen but there are some diamonds in the ruff. I also started classed at the local college and have been working my but off just trying to get my textbooks. Now, I have to read them. Anyway, here's the next chapter. It's not as good as it should be and I'm sorry about that. Thank you to all of the reviewers who kept bugging me. Keep it up, you're the only ones keeping me in line. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters or products affiliated with him. If I did...AH HA HA AH HA HA HA HA! Orochimaru and Kabuto would have numerous scenes where they are wearing S&M costumes! It's a good thing I don't own Naruto, huh?**

Sakura remembered the girls pointing the Biology classroom out to her on the way to homeroom, but still, she was happy that she ran into Ino on her way

Sakura remembered the girls pointing the Biology classroom out to her on the way to homeroom, but still, she was happy that she ran into Ino on her way. She wouldn't have been able to stand another encounter with Gaara. Unfortunately, she wouldn't be seeing Tenten until Lunch and, as a result, wouldn't be able to find out what it was about Gaara that she was going to tell her new friend. Ino was being very close mouthed, Hinata had a different class too, and Temari was in a different grade level. No one wanted to tell her why this guy was being so rude to her. This was not the first day that she had planned.

To make it worse, it looked like her teacher, Orochimaru-sensei, was a complete jerk. As students came in, he told them to sit with their friends and went back to writing on the chalk board. Finally, when the last students walked in (who happened to be Gaara, Naruto, and Kiba) she breathed a sigh of relief seeing that the only empty seats were in the front while she and Ino were seated in the back. Orochimaru-sensei had other plans however.

"Sss-ubaku! I re-sss-eived a reque-sss-t from one of your teacher-sss to have sss-eated far away from Mi-sss Haruno!" Orochimaru-sensei glanced at Sakura and then quickly returned his gaze to the smug looking redhead in front of him.

Said redhead slowly turned to look at Sakura and smirked at her before going to take a vacant seat in the front row. She felt relief wash through her like a flood sent by God but immediately tensed up again when Orochimaru-sensei told Gaara to get back up.

"Did I sss-ay that I wa-sss going to li-sss-ten to the reque-sss-t?" He looked around the classroom and addressed all of his students. "Did you all think that I wa-sss going to let you sss-t nex-sss-t to your friend-sss sss-o that you could be di-sss-tracted in my cla-sss?! No. Sss-ubaku, you will sit right where you are while Mi-sss Haruno will take the seat between you and the wall. If there truly is a problem, I will rectify it immediately but only if I de-sss-ide that there i-sss truly a problem. The re-sss-t of you will move to the sss-eat I a-sss-ign you!"

As Sakura rose with her heart pounding, she wondered why she had to beg her mother to let her go to school. She hadn't even encountered any of the girls who had made fun of her when she was younger yet. She had been sure that that would be the most difficult part, but no, her problems lay within the redhead that she was cursed to sit with for the remainder of the semester. She wouldn't even have Ino next to her.

She was slowly making her way towards her new seat while Orochimaru-sensei broke up the groups of friends. She noticed that, in order for to have a different seat should a "problem" arise, he would have to put two friends together. And Sakura could practically see her last hope for a change in the seating arrangement fly away.

"Now then, let u-sss move on to our fir-sss-t quiz." As the majority of the class groaned in protest, Orochimaru turned away from the board where he was writing the questions down to glare at his class, "You mean to tell me that none of you have read the fir-sss-t chapter yet? Well then, I gue-sss we'll be having a lot of bad grade-sss today." With that, he turned back to the board to finish the questions.

Sakura wasn't worried about the quiz like the other students. She was very good in science, especially biology, and she had read the first chapter. She had the questions answered in no time and she found herself waiting for Orochimaru-sensei to write more down. It was all fairly easy stuff too. What she was nervous about was the person sitting next to her. She would flinch every time his chains jingled. It was the only sign she had that he had made a move, he was so quiet. But she knew from their encounter in their last class that he could move around without making the chains jingle. Which obviously meant that he was doing it on purpose and was trying to scare her. There were no more questions to answer and both she and Gaara sat there waiting for the next order of business.

The wait gave her more time to think since Gaara wasn't doing anything to aggravate her, for the moment, probably trying not to give Orochimaru-sensei a reason to move one of them. And she didn't want to think because her mind kept flashing back to the kiss. Not a memory that she wanted to consider at the moment since it had been her first kiss and the guy that it had been with was hell bent on tormenting her for unknowingly taking his favorite seat on the bus hours ago.

It had been obvious that he had previous experience when it came to kissing and it had been equally obvious that she had none. The kiss had been rough, vigorous, and completely passionless. He had simply been showing her that he could get away with anything he wanted. Thankfully, Anko-sensei had been there to prove him wrong in that respect. Hopefully, Orochimaru-sensei wouldn't be making up for Gaara's lost freedom. Also, Sakura hoped that the kiss hadn't been an implication to Gaara's intentions for her. She was naïve but she wasn't stupid. She watched television and read books, she knew what happened between a guy and a girl and she didn't feel like participating yet.

And certainly not with Gaara either.

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Gaara had been shocked that the pedophile had allowed him to sit next to Sakura. Perhaps he thought that Gaara would provide him some amusement. He was wrong if he did. Gaara, besides the occasional jingling of his chains to startle the pinkette, behaved himself. He wrote down the answers to the pedophile's simple questions. Seriously, if the other students weren't in such a panic from the threat of a bad grade they'd notice that these questions required no brain power at all, much less a book.

Glancing out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Sakura had finished the questions as well and was currently staring off into space. He wondered what she was thinking but figured that she was probably thinking about him. It wasn't that he was arrogant, he simply considered their encounters so far and the odds spoke, he done enough to be on her mind instead of that stupid emo-wannabe that was sitting right next to him. This really was a sick joke. Thankfully, Sakura hadn't noticed the presence of the sorry excuse for an emo, and was thinking about Gaara. Gaara sincerely hoped that the pedophile picked him as his next target; that would give him something to be depressed about.

Glancing over at his pink-haired victim once more, he noticed that she was still spacing out. He also noticed that it was getting close to the time that the pedophile would let the class out. As a teacher, he wasn't very demanding. Read the chapter, do the quiz, get out of his classroom. Especially on the first day. On the first day, he would end class extremely early, dismiss all but one male student, and tell them that they were promising and filled with potential. He'd tell them to stick around and he'd have them start coming over after school. It made Gaara sick, but as long as the pedophile didn't look at him, he wouldn't say anything about it. His did feel a sense of satisfaction though, every time the pedophile glanced at the Uchiha. He knew, for sure, that the annoying emo would be the pedophile's flavor of the month. At least.

Sure enough, nothing eventful happened for the next twenty minutes. Then the pedophile got up from his desk and collected the quizzes. Once they were done, he handed them back. Gaara was so thrilled with the adoring attention that the Uchiha was receiving from the pedophile that he didn't care about the points he lost for sloppy handwriting on the last question and the rip in his paper. He knew the Uchiha would be late to fourth period.

Somehow, knowing that the emo-wannabe would suffer made him feel better about not being able to agitate Sakura for period.

Finally, the pedophile finished handing back quizzes and addressed the class again, "Sss-in-sss-e none of you came sss-ufficiently prepared for this cla-sss, I will let you out early. You will read the next chapter tonight or there will be sss-evere con-sss-equen-sss-e-sss. Uchicha-sss-an. You will sss-tay after. I would like to have a word with you.

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Sakura looked up and over, beyond Gaara. She hadn't realized that the Uchiha boy had been in the classroom with her. But of course, Gaara had to be sitting right between them. She thought that she might actually be developing the beginnings of a small crush on this strange boy. Maybe he would be in her next class as well. Perhaps her last one. Well, at least there was always lunch.

As she got up to leave, she couldn't help but notice that Orochimaru-sensei had a strange look in his eye. Her attention didn't have time to linger on that however, since her arm had been seized roughly and was being pulled out of the room whether her body followed or not. When she finally got her senses back and it occurred to her that she might not want to be dragged along, she realized that she was too late.

She'd been hauled into a supply closet, her back up against the wall opposite the door, which was blocked by a redhead with cruel intentions glittering in his eyes.

"Now then," he pulled up close to her, pinning her up against the wall with his own body, "where were we?"

**Once again, sorry for the delay. I hope you liked it. I understand if you don't. Please review and I'll edit it later.**


	9. Chapter 8

**Sorry that this is so late in coming and that it is so short. I had a hectic semester and work was getting weird. I'll try to come out with more chapters during Christmas break. Please Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or anything related to it with the exception of a rebel Konoha forehead protector and two wooden kunai.**

**I've decided to use Labor Day to update this story as much as my inspiration will allow me because I can't guarantee another chapter soon. Hope it's a good read. Thanks for sticking with me.**

"_Where were we?" he asks?! "Where were we?"_

_**Sakura, be careful. He's got you pinned up against the wall in a storage closet. You don't want to provoke him into doing something that you'll regret.**_

_Well Thank You Ms. Obvious! As if that hadn't been brought to my attention yet!_

_**I'm just trying to help!**_

_Well, you're not!_

Silence. It seemed as though her inner argument had taken no time at all, or Gaara was simply in no hurry. They had almost a whole hour before their next class and she didn't want to think of what he could do to her in that amount of time. And then she thought about the kiss. What if he wanted something more from her in that respect? She wasn't exactly in a position to resist him at the moment.

His body was close to her but not yet flush against her, something that she was very thankful for. He had her hands suspended above her head, rendering them immobile. His knees were pushing her thighs against the wall so she couldn't kick him. She had only just started her lessons at the dojo and everything her sensei had taught her about self defense so far required the use of her hands and legs. The only thing she could do now is scream but, from the amount of sound coming in through the closed door, it was unlikely that anyone would hear her. She was left with only one option, tick him off until he made a mistake and she has a chance to violently slaughter him.

She let her gaze leave his face to look out of the corner of her vision, giving the sarcastic impression that she was thinking it over; "Hmmm. Where did we leave off?" She sent one of the most vicious glares she could summon towards him, "I believe you were getting on my last nerve!"

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Gaara returned her glare for a short while before giving her one of his signature smirks. "Oh yes, I remember, your nerves." He continued to hold her hands above her with his left and with his right hand he lifted the bottom of her shirt a little, just enough to reveal the pale skin of her abdomen. She was fit. He began to trace lazy circles on her tummy while gauging her face and eyes for any reaction. He wasn't disappointed.

She gasped and began to struggle again. "Get off of me you sick, disgusting pervert!"

He pressed his body right up against hers and bent down to her ear, "Now that wasn't very nice. Don't forget, I promised to break something of yours for your third offense." He pulled back just enough to drink in her reaction. Horror, pure horror was written all over her face. "Oh, don't worry, it won't be that bad. I'm just gonna break the skin this time."

With that, he raised his hand to pull at the collar of her shirt, revealing more of her flawless flesh. He nuzzled into the area where her neck met her shoulder and began to kiss it. He was actually quite gentle at first, carefully placing brief butterfly kisses upon her delicate skin. But then he got into it and started to lick and nip until he was simply biting her.

She had been gasping more, and then she was moaning, but now she was trying not to scream. He didn't stop until he could see the mark, a splendid imitation of the kanji on his forehead. He smiled to himself, it was a shame to mar her pretty body but the mark was a rather flattering shade of red against her pale tone. He moved his hand down to the hem of her shirt and lifted it to just below her breasts. He turned his focus away from the tears welling up in her eyes in favor of placing more red marks on her abdomen.

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Ever since elementary school, they had been rivals. They were engaged in a war that was nineteen generations old, a war that could trace its battles to other cultural or religious wars. During the crusades, their ancestors had warred on the same side, fighting their own battles in competitions to see who "the best" was. During the Renaissance, the two families backed their own artists and inventors, waiting to see who would become more famous than the other. Throughout history, the two families had made life interesting for the surrounding environment while maintain their status as a mere footnote in time. Their war was all but invisible to the historian's eye and it was a war that was beginning to wear down. Not because the families were dying. The obstacles in the way had nothing to do with rules, regulations, or laws. There were no love interests between the two families, heaven forbid since the last descendents of either family was male, although there was a begrudged friendship. No, the reason that this war was dying, a thing of the past, about to be forgotten to the world, wiped away to be replaced with a clean slate; the reason why this war could no longer be fought was simply that…

"Gosh darnit! Where is he?!" One of the descendents refused to "fight". "Kakashi! Stop hiding from me or I will be forced to assume that you cannot bear to face the true power of my Youthfulness!" The gym teacher, Gai-sensei, stood in the middle of a full hall disregarding the shocked students as he flashed his signature Good Guy Pose complete with glittering smile and shiny hair. As the students around him began to faint from a serious overdose of Youthfulness, Gai-sensei went up to random doors searching for his rival shouting, "Ah-ha! I've found you Kakashi!" He figured he could cover the entire school twice before he had to start his next class. Oh yes, the Youthfulness was thick today.

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Somehow, Sakura knew, most girls would have enjoyed the sort of attention that she was receiving. She could even imagine, it took a vast amount of work but she could imagine it, a girl could overlook the fact that this guy was psychotic and focus completely on his attractive looks. If Sakura really, really tried; she could bring herself to enjoy the attention that this psychotic eye-candy was lavishing on her untried body. But Sakura wasn't willing to try, Hell, she wasn't willing to think about trying. It was just too much. She wanted him to stop; she wanted it all to stop. It hadn't been pleasurable to begin with and nothing was changing. Her neck was throbbing where he had bitten her and her abdomen was starting to throb out a counter melody.

She opened her mouth to scream for help when he decided to bite again. Strangely enough though, the door slammed open before she could utter a sound, and a strange looking man stood in the doorway yelling something. She couldn't hear him over the pounding her heart was making but she guessed that he was scolding Gaara since said redhead had released her. Relieved, she quickly readjusted her shirt and scurried pass Gaara and hid behind the strange man. Suddenly though, she had a feeling that he hadn't meant to interrupt them.

He looked at them both, narrowing his eyes when he glanced at Gaara. Sakura was beginning to wonder what it was that he had been expecting in the room and was wondering if he was truly a savior or if he was going to make the situation worse than it already was. And then his expression changed from shocked and confused to…well she couldn't really describe it. He had his head bowed and his clenched fish was brought up to his chest, right over his heart. He was shaking too. She was beginning to worry that he wasn't well. And then she **wished** that he wasn't well.

His head shot back and his fist shot up as his eyes streamed tears. He yelled something new and this time, Sakura heard him though she would give anything to be deaf at this moment; "YOUNG LOVE!!! Oh I remember what it was like to be young and in love! What am I saying? I'm still young and in love! HAHAHAHA!" He looked at Sakura and then back at Gaara again, tears still streaming form his eyes, "Even you, Subaku-kun, are capable of love. If only I weren't a teacher and didn't have rules to uphold. I would allow the two of you to express your love freely!"

The strange man showed every sign of being about to break down into a fit of tears. Sakura felt that she had to say something while she could to salvage the situation, "Ah, sensei…"

"No child! You need not apologize! You and your boyfriend will not be punished; I can simply let you off with a small warning. Although I do not believe I have ever met you before, I believe that you and Subaku-kun will be very happy together! Now you must get to class before I am forced to give you demerits for tardiness! Please! Go about you Youthful business!"

Sakura looked at Gaara again, he was wearing a smirk on his face again, and back at the teacher who looked about ready to charge off and leave her alone with the demented teen again. It was now or never, "Sensei! Could you please help me? I don't know where the gym is and I have class soon."

Guy-sensei glanced at her and then at Gaara, and then he began to shake again. She wondered if he was going to be upset this time but was, instead, even more pleased with her. There were more tears. "Oh, bless you, child! Trying to make sure you do not break the rules again despite my willingness to turn the other way! What amazing youths you are! Of course I will accompany you to the gym. And once we reach the Room or Youthfulness, we will immediately begin pre-gym exercises. Now, follow me to our next destination!"

Sakura didn't understand, in the Rules and Policies book that she had been handed, it said that there would be severe punishment for any couples who "did it" on school grounds. Not that they were a couple. And it wasn't like she wanted to be punished for being molested. It was just, why wasn't this teacher expelling them or, at least, giving them detention?

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Gaara was not happy. First, he was interrupted while in the middle of satisfying himself with Bubblegum; then, he was cheated out of another chance with her by Bubblegum herself; now, he had to decide if he could tolerate spending the next two hours with Maito Guy or if he was going to skip out entirely for the rest of the day.

In the end, it was the look of hope that was shining fro Bubblegum's eyes. He knew now that he had to stay. It was early yet, but he wanted her to become accustomed to pain and hopelessness. He would have to put up with the ridiculous lectures for a few hours to accomplish today's goal. Oh, the things he did for art. Gaara followed close behind his Bubblegum Girl while she followed Maito Guy to the very easily located gym,


	10. Chapter 9

**I am so sorry that I have not updated in so long. It was a crazy semester and it's taken me entirely too long to get into the swing of Christmas break. I had meant to write a bit forever ago but got distracted. Aye Yay Yay! Anyways, thank you for all the reviews. They made me feel incredibly guilty but kept me thinking about the story. This is a bit of a short chapter but I promise, it'll get better! **

_**I do not own the Naruto series or any of the characters involved. However, I do reserve the right to modify it all with my own imagination and post it on a public forum! Ah-ha-ha Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha! Yes, it was worthy of the Mandark Laugh.**_

* * *

Sakura was finally alone. She was in the girl's locker room taking inventory of Gaara's presents. She had twenty minutes before the other girls headed in to change and decide if she should tell a teacher or maybe ask one of the girls what their advice would be. Or maybe she should just leave the school and go home. Tell her mother.

No. She couldn't tell her. She'd fought for years now to get into a public school. This guy may be twisted but there had to be something she could do to get him to stop. An anonymous report, perhaps, or maybe she could find some way of recording any further harassment. There was no reason why she'd have to leave school because of one guy's mental flaws.

But she knew that Gaara was Temari's brother and she didn't want to make a new friend mad. Maybe she should just bail now and go home, tell her mom that she was right? Finish high school at home and take online courses for college.

_But that's not what I want!_

_**What do you want?**_

_I like the people…my hair's not a big deal anymore and I like the school idea. I know it's too early to tell but the only downside to this is that BOY! I don't even see how I made him so angry. They were just seats. They change all the time!_

_**A seat is also a place, dear.**_

_What?_

_**By saying that those were his seats, his place in the room, you may have undermined something important to him. Perhaps what he did was so awful that everyone else has pushed him away and those seats are the only place he can say are his in a place he probably doesn't want to be.**_

_When you put it like that, I feel kinda bad for him. But, still, he has no right to hurt me like this! And why would he…touch me like that. What did I do to deserve that?_

_**I don't know him, I just know broken souls and how some of them work. I'd have to get to know him better to know why he is so severe in his attentions.**_

_The only other soul you know is mine…._

…_**yes dear.**_

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Sakura had decided to wait until after gym, and go to the nurse about bite on her neck. Gaara hadn't really bitten deep on her stomach, they were mostly hickeys and she could deal with them. For now, she had had gotten into the first aid box in the locker room and bandaged it up best she could on her own. She was used to being clumsy at home so she had a good idea of how to fix her self up best.

She was all bandaged and dressed when the girls came flooding in to the locker room. They all chattered about their day and about the latest gossip. Many bemoaned their fate, saying that gym should be against the law. Some looked around and went right back out the door. She wanted to see her new friends and maybe ask about Gaara but she feared that they would be scared off or tell someone before she was ready. Before she could work herself up into a mood though, she saw Tenten bounding up to her. Hinata and Ino trailed behind her.

"Sakura! Hey, are you alright?" Tenten gripped Sakura by the shoulders and looked her up and down. Tenten's focused eye immediately went to the bandage on her neck. "Hinata told me Gaara was troubling you in art. I want you to tell me, right now, what he did. Don't even think about leaving any details out either." She had a no nonsense, no lies, just the truth look on her face and wasn't taking no for an answer. Hinata stood behind her, twiddling her fingers, obviously worried.

Sakura took a deep breathe but, before she could let the words out, she saw some of the girls around them subtly eavesdropping. She snapped her mouth shut again with an audible gnash of the teeth. She didn't know why she cared but she had heard the girls coming in. She didn't want her troubled first day to be the week's gossip. She looked to Tenten with pleading eyes.

"Please, can't we talk about it when it's not so crowded." She glanced around the room again to make her reason clear. Tenten sighed but gave a slight nod.

Ino, uncharacteristically quiet in her corner decided to lighten the mood. "Jeez, Sakura, leave it to you to make an arch nemesis of the meanest guy in the school on your first day! What are we gonna do with you? Hey, are you still any good in sports? Guy-Sensei has a tendency to put us with klutzes and have us play against a team of pros. And, I don't know about these girls, but I'm getting tired of losing!" She looked Sakura up and down with a critical eye, waiting for an answer she would like.

"Well," Sakura looked down at her feet. It had been difficult convincing her mother that outside time was what she had needed, but the battle had been won. Well, until her father died. For a few years, Sakura got to be involved in as many sports and activities as she could handle. Sakura didn't really think she was a pro but she was fairly good. Ino would just have to settle for Sakura's best. She looked up at her old friend and smiled, "I'll bet I'm better than you, Ino-Pig!" Sakura stuck her tongue at Ino and ducked down to avoid the swing aimed, playfully, at her head. The small group of friends laughed over the exchange for awhile until it was time to head into the gym and face their dooms.

For a short while, Sakura didn't think about the bruises and the bite or even Gaara and their kiss. It really did seem ridiculous to avoid telling anyone about the harassment but, not many people understood what it was like to be shut up in a house most of the day without social interaction. Had it not been for the initial year with Ino and the few years of actual out of the home activities, Sakura never would have been able to cultivate a friendship with the perky blonde. The sporadic social contact was what kept Sakura grounded during her studies. Her father knew that too much strain from studying would be unhealthy without a physical and social outlet. Her mother felt that as long as Sakura set herself aside from the rest of the population with her intelligence, she'd be just fine.

Even though it seemed ridiculous to even think of hiding this harassment, so much of it having occurred already in just a few hours, Sakura knew that she was right to latch on to this high school experience. She needed it. She was smart, maybe not people smart, but she knew she was smart enough to figure this out. Anko-sensei will undoubtedly be able to help. With a sigh, Sakura's mind left her outrageous predicament in neatly on a mental shelf to be taken down when she was able to sit and reason it out and returned to the conversation with Ino and her new friends.

"Well, at least we'll probably get you on our team Sakura! We won't have to lose in front of the guys again!" Ino threw her fist in the air, her eyes practically on fire with her enthusiasm. She seemed to be more than willing to let Sakura wait to reveal the details of her morning. Tenten however, seemed less than happy with the idea.

The brunette's eyes were soft but held no room for resistance as she gave her new friend a declaration, " You will be telling us everything about what Gaara has been doing around you Sakura. During lunch, we'll go to our spot, no one else will be able to overhear us, and we won't pass any judgments." Sakura just breathed and nodded her head. It was a feeling of relief that she flooded through her with the realization that she may have made some truly unique and priceless friends. And then the relief went away as she finally absorbed, not what Tenten had said, but what Ino had enthusiastically stated.

"What guys?" Why are we playing in front of the guys?"


	11. Chapter 10

**So, here it is! Luckily, I'm bored as all Heck this Christmas Break and I have plenty of time and energy to devote to the writing of this story. Hopefully, I might be able to finish it before I head back to school too! Anyways, thank you all so much for your patience. This chapter is a bit longer and I'll try to get the next one up soon!**

**I do not own Naruto or the characters associated with the series. But wouldn't it be fun if I did? ~_^  
**

How she got herself into THIS spectacular mess was a mystery so outrageous that she was sure not even the fine, Sherlock Holmes could solve. She was standing on one side of the indoor gym with Ino, Tenten, Hinata, and two other girls. For some reason, the boys got to lounge around on the pullout bleachers and watch the girls play volleyball. Apparently, they were going to be playing basketball once the girls finished a game. And it would switch back and forth until the end of the period. The next day would start off with the next group in the cycle. If a game hadn't been finished, the same group would start the next period until the game finishes. The boys team hasn't played basketball in a year because the girl teams were evenly matched and no one side has actually won yet. However, things were expected to change this year.

Sakura felt as though a breeze should whistle through the gym right then and stir the hair of the girls as they stared deep into each others' eyes with determination. The theme from a bad western movie ought to have been playing while they waited for the call from Gai-sensei. The boys all lounging around the bleachers as though they hadn't a care in the world but were actually tense with realization that they had somehow landed in the eye of some powerful storm.

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Gaara was lying down on the bleachers with his crew, separate from the rest of the guys in his year. The entire sophomore class was required to have gym at the same time. The school practically had a sports arena as it had three courts that could be used for the volleyball/basketball games. He hadn't had to play a single period since April. That was when the girls couldn't win a game against each other. Although he didn't think it was "couldn't" so much as they "wouldn't" beat each other. All of the girls had this misguided idea that the reason he had chosen Yuki was that she'd been the most athletic girl in the school.

_Idiots_

The feared redhead looked over to see his "group" engaged in their usual activities. Sai was intensely focused on sketching the girls. If there was one artistic area that the young artist was flawed in it was people. Critics of his work always agreed that when he drew people, they had no life to them, no personality. It was something that drove him mad to no end; he was continuously trying to improve on this but couldn't seem to overcome the handicap. Really, he was unable to understand people and Gaara sometimes wondered if it was Sai who held no life. But those thought were useless, only worth mulling over when there was absolutely nothing else to do.

Not that there was anything else to do right then. He'd just skip the class but didn't want to give any of the teachers something to complain about. If they kicked him out, he'd really be bored. Shikamaru was another one. Gaara wondered why he didn't just skip high school and go straight to some Ivy League institution. He had the smarts and the ability. For some reason though, Shikamaru Nara hung around this place in the same crouched position, eyes closed, hands forming that same triangle, while he thought about something on level much deeper than any philosopher. Even his association with Gaara made little to no sense. Gaara didn't really trust anyone, not even the guys who hung around him but out of all of them, Shikamaru was the least trustworthy of the bunch due to his lack of motive. Sai at least was just placing himself near a fellow artist. He'd have to remember later to ask him what occurred between the pale artist and his little pinkette.

Unlike Shikamaru, Gaara not only knew Naruto's reasons for being around him but understood them as well, for the most part anyway. He'd even go so far as to call him a friend. Naruto pretended to be a stupid oaf who couldn't tell when a girl was crushing on him and when she was sick. He pretended to struggle with the academic work but left his teachers puzzled when he got straight A's that no one but he, the teachers, and his group knew about. His strange knack for languages was another puzzler. He acted clumsy and happy and friendly, but there was another side to him. Not many people knew about it though. Most people who thought they knew Naruto liked to think that he was a good guy, a little misguided but still worth a warm spot in their hearts. They thought it practically adorable how he sat there, in his dark ensemble, writing away in a simple notebook. _Tch, if they only knew what I knew._

Neji was seated near him, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees. He was surprisingly interested in the game that was actually more enthusiastic than it had been since Yuki stopped showing up for gym. Even the Hyuga girl was active considering she normally hid behind her friends. All of his sister's friends were on the same team. Tenten was back-center, Hinata back-left, Ino serving from back-right, and Sakura was front-center while two other girls took either side on the front. She was quite athletic and her team might actually win the game. Which meant a group of the guys might have to play in their court for once. He could understand why most of the guys would be watching these girls intently but Neji normally had no interest in them. Normally, he'd be reading a book or considering the work of fate. His shirt was a public joke, not that anyone outside of their little clique would laugh out loud at it. Everyone knew that Neji believed fate had a hand in everything. If it wasn't meant to be exactly the way it occurred, then it wouldn't have happened. That was his view. Anyone who suggested that things just happened without reason would earn a glare from the Hyuga male that would cause them to spontaneously combust in any other world.

What Neji was doing watching a group of girls though, was just mind boggling. Gaara knew he'd had to "baby-sit" his cousin and her friends a few times at the "request" of his uncle and guardian. Gaara wondered if something happened to alter Neji's pearl glazed outlook on life.

A few rows down, Kiba was practically slobbering over the sight of a bunch of well endowed girls jumping around in short gym shorts and white t-shirts, with the exception of the Hyuga girl who still wore her jacket even though she must be burning up. The wolfish boy acted as though he was in heaven. Gaara was just waiting for Neji to hit the idiot or something to get him to stop staring at his cousin.

Before Gaara's anticipation could be satisfied though, he witnessed the entrance of a very flushed and frazzled emo-looking fellow enter the gym. With a smirk, he indicated the pansy's entrance to his group. They watched as he took a seat on his own at the top of the bleachers and watched the six teams of girls. Even though it was enough to actually disgust the redhead, Gaara had always been curious as to what it was that went on between the sick science teacher and his play toys. He wondered if this new pansy had put out for the perv. And then he was distracted from his musings by the load, boisterous voice of the gym teacher.

"Ah BOYS! The blue team in court 3 have won the game and proven their YOUTHFULNESS! Now, it is your turn, to rise up and prove your YOUTHFULNESS! Subaku no, Uzamaki, Hyuga, Inuzuka, Nara, and Sai; you boys will be on the red side! Prove your YOUTHFULNESS!"

Shikamaru stood with a sigh as the ridiculous Mighty Guy the Youthful Gym Teacher called forth an equally youthful team of boys featuring the equally ridiculous athletic prodigy, Rock Lee as well as the pansy. With a grin, a young man in a green jumpsuit came to stand by his similarly dressed mentor and flashed their good guy pose toward the boys on the bleachers. Gaara couldn't believe that, not only did he actually have to play basketball; he had to do so with that pathetic pansy on the other team. At a slow pace, he and his group climbed down to the court while the gym teacher and his favorite student took the net down.

The boys assembled and stood across from each other waiting for Mighty Guy to throw the ball in the air. Gaara and his group had already agreed to ignore the pansy they'd been paired with. On Rock Lee's team was the biggest kid in the entire school, Choji Akimichi. There was also the weird etymology guy, Shino Aburame. That guy, like the Hyuga girl, always wore a coat but his was a trench coat with a hood which he had on.

_What is with these cold blooded idiots?_

_**Really, you can be so cruel to others. Just at least make sure you play cleanly so you don't get kicked out.**_

_No need to worry about that, _Gaara glanced at the group of girls headed to the locker rooms to take their showers and spotted the pink, _wouldn't want to lose my chance at a little fun._

Since no one was actually expecting to have to play today, except Rock Lee who was always hopeful, none of the boys had changed into gym clothes. They didn't bother either. Most of them just wanted to get this over with. Particularly Choji, who was looking forward to not having to participate in a gym class ever again, but that was okay because Gaara had some steam to let off. He could play dirty a little bit, just as long as he didn't get caught. Hell, the Youthful Might Guy might even excuse him on account of OVERPOWERING YOUTHFULNESS. With a smirk, the Gaara snatched the ball out of the air before the other team could blink and his group became a whirlwind of black and chains on the court heading straight for the opposing team's basket. The Uchiha just stood there watching.

_Tch, what a pansy._

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_

The girls piled into the locker room, intent on getting a shower before lunch. Sakura was a little nervous because the showers were public and she didn't want the entire sophomore population to find out about her close encounter with the redheaded devil of the school. She indicated to Ino her nervousness and the blonde nodded her head. After a few whispers to Tenten and Hinata, they guided the pinkette to a different area of the locker room.

"Don't worry, since the other girls haven't finished their games yet, we can get away with taking up this side all by ourselves." Ino glanced at Sakura with concern. She knew Sakura was shy, especially around other people. She hoped that Sakura hadn't noticed Reenee and Jeanette on the opposing team because that was all that the poor thing needed today was to encounter her past tormentors again. However, she didn't think that Sakura was usually nervous about her body, with the exception of her forehead, when around other girls. "Sakura, what's wrong? Is it Gaara again? Did he say something to you?"

Tenten came up to her then, "Don't worry Sakura, we'll tell Temari what he's doing and she'd fix the deal so he'll have to leave you alone too. After our showers, we'll be able to get to lunch early and tell you all about this jerk."

Sakura almost wanted to cry, she thought that friends like these were only found this quickly and this easily in books and movies. She was so lucky. She decided that she was gonna have to tell them about her, experience, with Gaara eventually anyway. So, she started to take off her gym clothes that barely concealed Gaara's detailed attention. There was a collective gasp as the girls took in the bandages all over the girl's body. As Sakura unwound them, their eyes widened at the sight of all of the bite marks covering her abdomen. The biggest shocker was the large wound between her neck and shoulder that in the midst of the red, irritated skin looked a lot like the tattoo on Gaara's forehead.

"THAT BASTARD! I'LL KILL HIM! I'LL STRING HIM UPSIDE DOWN IN A TREE FOR THE BIRDS WHILE HIS ENTIRE CREW WATCHES! IF I EVER GET MY HANDS ON HIM, HE'LL RUE THE DAY HE EVER STEPPED FOOT IN KONOHA IN THE FIRST PLACE! THAT LITTLE BASTARTD!" The enraged female's face was red as she paced and ranted while her friends stared in shock.

One would expect this from Tenten who just stood there in utter disblief. Ino might be the second choice for such an outburst. However, no one would have expected the sweet, calm, mousy, stuttering Hinata Hyuga to rage aloud without a stumble at her cousin's friend. That the word "bastard" was in her delicate vocabulary was enough to shock the small group. Her faint voice didn't seem to fit with the rant but the message was clear. Her cousin's friend was in dangerous territory. Sakura had wormed her way into the hearts of these girls and he wasn't going to mess with her. While Tenten went to calm the enraged Hyuga down, Ino went to comfort the shaking pinkette.

"Sakura, how did this happen?" Ino stroked her friend's pink hair as she helped her clean the bites. "Leave it to you, Billboard-Brow, to get on the bad side of Gaara Subaku on your very first day of school." Sakura would have cried if she didn't know that Ino was possibly more scared than she was. There was a lot that she didn't know about this Gaara guy and she needed to fix that but first, she needed a shower. The girls managed to get their showers over and done with quickly so that they could head straight to the cafeteria where Temari was waiting. Tenten and Ino were adamant about waiting until Temari was around to talk about things and Hinata hadn't said a word since her rant. She just went about gathering her things quietly, her eyes still ablaze with determination. Sakura realized that Hinata had slipped away while the other three were taking a shower and Sakura didn't see her again until she was fully clothed again. She began to wonder if the quiet girl was as concerned about her body as Sakura was her forehead.

_**Maybe now you'll consider the possibility that some people have equal, if not greater, problems than you do. **_

_I never said that my problems were greater than everybody else's just that they were there._

Sakura shut out the gently reply that knew her "conscience" had and returned her attention to getting out of the locker room and into the cafeteria before the boys could finish their game. They filed out as a group towards the cafeteria and Sakura relaxed a little knowing that she was indeed a part of the group. For once, she was a part of the group, and not a victim of it.

"Hey, Forehead Girl! Where ya been?"

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**Hope you enjoyed it. And I hope that it's making sense. It's been awhile and I think my ideas changed a bit. Please keep reading and reviewing. Thankz!**


	12. Interlude Two

**You probably thought I was going to continue where I left off. Nope. I've got a brain spasm that's trying to work itself out about how I want to continue this story so that I can maybe finish it before the end of Christmas break. Which means there might be a sequel. Up to y'all. But, if I don't somehow finish it before the 22nd, I probably won't update until Spring break. Maybe not even then depending on the homework load. Which means it might no be until Summer. So, tell me what you think. If you guys want me to make it two stories or just continue it in one. If I closed this one, it would be a bit of an open ending but still conclusive as to the direction of the characters. If I don't, well, then I don't. ^_^ Please, Enjoy.**

**Hi Ya! (QK) ****I do not own Naruto, the story, or the characters. If I did.............well..............All of the characters would be able to sing and dance and there would be a dramatic and emotinally revealing musical episode!!!! Luckily for the Akatsuki, I do not own Naruto, the story, or the characters. :D Orochimaru is probably sad though.  
**

_It was about time to coax Naruto off of his swing again. The poor boy, so scared and in need of affection. Iruka looked out the door for the blonde to see that the rest of his class was still lingering on the playground. That wasn't normal. He usually had to fight through the throng of enthusiastic students to get to Naruto and his swing. He smiled as he remembered being that young and resentful of his teacher telling him to come in to class. If he could have, Iruka would have liked to let the children play all day but future waiting for them wouldn't tolerate such things. Their future expects them to be ready and he was the one tasked with the responsibility of getting them that way. _

_Iruka went through the door connecting his classroom to a fenced in playground. If he hadn't been so lost in thought about his own youth and his present feelings he might have noticed that the children weren't really playing. They were gathered in a circle and were yelling at a smaller group in the center. He'd noticed the children forming a circle many times but, before he could get to them to see what it was that they were doing, they disbanded and went about their individual games. This time however, they hadn't realized that Iruka was approaching and continued with their "game." He decided to wait to announce himself to see what it was that they had been doing so secretively for three months. In the center of the circle was the two best friends, Ino Yamanaka and Sakura Haruno. The two girls were hugging each other with tears in their eyes. Ino was yelling something at the circle but he couldn't hear what she said over the insults being flung at the pair. The ringleaders seemed to be two other young girls in his class, Reenee and Jeanette. Always whispering secrets to each other and giggling behind their hands like normal best friends or the twins that they were. Could they have been insulting their classmates together this entire time? How could Iruka not have known? He was barely able to sift out single phrases from the chaotic shouting of the children but it took him a moment to realize what it was they were saying. His eyes widened when he realized why the girls were crying._

"_**Stupid Forehead Girl!" "Why's it so big? You trying to help the aliens land?" "Fat Ino! Always Eating!" "Bubble Head! Bubble Head! Bubble Head!" "Ino, you're gonna be so big and fat when you're older. No one is gonna like you if you keep eating so much!" **_

_He'd put both of the young victims on timeout before for insulting each other as these kids were insulting them. He'd never understood why they insulted each other like they did. He never questioned where they had heard those names from or why they called each other names.. Perhaps, he should have. He had never noticed how the other children not only didn't play with the two girls, they intentionally set out to avoid them. Perhaps, he should have. He had never wondered why the two girls were always so reluctant to leave the classroom for recess. Perhaps, he should have. Perhaps, Iruka was not as good of a teacher as he had assumed he was._

_The insults continued to fly from the mouths of his students towards the ears of the two girls hugging each other in the center. Iruka could not believe that children could be so cruel. He'd noticed that, unlike the other children, these two young girls didn't play with the rest of the group. They just sat by each other, played with each other, talked to each other. Ino wasn't fat by any standards, she just had a healthy appetite for good food. She was incredibly small for her age but had some baby fat; she was only seven so everyone was sure she'd grow out of it. Most hoped that she wouldn't though as she was already horribly thin. She was a bean pole and just metabolized everything she ate almost immediately. Sakura, on the other hand, was always brushing her pink bangs down to cover her forehead. Iruka knew she was self-conscious about her forehead but he didn't think it was a crisis. She'd grow into it as Ino would grow out of her baby fat. He also knew that her pink hair was incredibly beautiful and made some of the other little girls in his class a little jealous. But he'd never thought that they'd be so jealous that they'd be this cruel to their classmates. _

_Iruka had had enough. _

_With a look that could peel paint off the walls, Iruka made his presence known by clearing his throat. All of the children looked towards him; the poor girls in the center were still hugging each other with tears in their eyes. __**"Since when do we speak so roughly to our classmates? Is there a special reason why two lovely young girls are crying? Since when are you so much better than another that you have the right to speak this way to them?"**__ Iruka waited to see if any of his young charges were going to reply or defend themselves. When they all looked down at their feet and remained quiet, he decided to dish out their punishments._

"_**Since tomorrow is our parent-teacher conference day, all of your parents will be hearing about this incident tomorrow." **__He paused at the gasps of terror his statement elicited from the class. Curiously, it wasn't just the tormentors who were scared. Ino and Sakura must have kept quiet about this at home or he'd have heard about it already. __**"I'm not done though. With the exception of Naruto, Ino, and Sakura, there will be no more recess for the rest of the month. If at the end of the month, I decide that you've learned your lesson, I may allow minimal recess privileges again."**__ There were groans from the children but no verbal complaints. __**"I am very disappointed in all of you. I see we will need to review manners for the rest of the month as well. All of you may return to your seats and read quietly. Sakura and Ino, you two are to sit down at my desk and wait. I will be back in as soon as I get Naruto."**_

_The two girls looked even more horrified than they did when they were being tormented by their classmates. He wondered if they'd been threatened as well in case they told someone. With a sigh, Iruka began heading toward the blond to bring him inside. Surprise, surprise though, Naruto was already well on his way to the door. He had a strange look on his face as though he was seriously considering something. When he reached the door, he looked back towards Iruka with those cerulean blue eyes with an almost accusing expression in them. Iruka understood then, the two girls weren't the only ones who'd been surrounded before. They must have taken turns as the victims and Naruto was undoubtedly hurt that Iruka never came to save him. What a horrible day._

_Upon walking into his classroom, Iruka saw that his class was glaring at Sakura, Ino, and Naruto rather than reading like he had told them too. It was going to be a long, horrible day._

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_

"_**Well, I beg your pardon Mrs. Haruno, but they're just children! It's all part of their fun and games. I'm sure, Mrs. Yamanaka, that both these girls have launched their fair share of insults at my girls as well. They've told me many times about how they have been harassed by a girl with bubblegum hair and-"**_

"_**Don't you DARE talk about my daughter's hair! It's bad enough your little imps have been devastating her and Ino for the better part of the school year, worse that no one's known about it and they've kept it all bottled up, but you have no business referring to my daughter by one of the many characteristics that set her apart from future delinquents like your daughters!"**_

"_**Here, here! It's a horrible thing that young girls face with self consciousness. I always wondered why Ino was worried about her weight when she's already so small. And young as well! She's seven years old, seven! She's watching her carbs because your chunky monkey's feel insecure and are jealous of her imminent beauty! How dare you try to defend such obvious abuse as harmless fun and games?!"**_

_The three mothers stood yelling at each other over the table the parents had gathered around while Iruka tried to calm them down. He had meant to take the blame and bring the issue to the attention of the parents. Perhaps, if there was time, he had intended on ask for a collaborative effort to prevent such verbal abuse in the future. He hadn't expected that the mother of Reenee and Jeanette already knew about the abuse and all but openly approved of it. Mrs. Haruno had expressed concerns about Sakura and her hair color at the start of the school year. Due to jealousy over her exotic coloring and Ino's physical build, the abuse began and escalated before any of the adults could acknowledge it. The women continued to yell at each other while the other parents had the decency to look chagrined at least. Many of them were on the side of the Harunos and Yamanakas. They couldn't believe that their children had become slaves to the herd mentality and blindly followed the Taruki twins in verbally abusing their classmates. Despite the nearly unanimous agreement that the incidents in question were wrong, the argument continued. Iruka feared that things would get out of hand if he didn't stop this soon. His fears were unnecessary though._

_The door to the classroom/battlefield opened and closed quietly. A tall man walked toward the group and calmly took a seat next to Mrs. Haruno. Once she realized that he was there, she immediately sat down and stopped yelling at the mother of her daughter's tormentors. Mrs. Yamanaka, seeing her support leaving and the reason why sat down beside her husband as well. Mr. Yamanaka raised an eyebrow at his old friend's late arrival but didn't say a word. He hadn't said a word all night. He knew all that he needed to know from what his little Ino had told him. A more honest person could not be found in his opinion, save for Sakura perhaps._

_Mrs. Taruki was practically gloating over the seeming retreat of her opponents and was about to spout out some other pompous statement when Mr. Haruno cleared his throat. He remained in his seat but looked towards Iruka. _

"_**Ah, Iruka, long time no see. I hope you don't mind, I'd like to put my two cents in before you tell us horrible people what you need us to do."**_

_Iruka was a little taken aback at first. He hadn't seen Mr. Haruno since he initially met all of the parents of his class at the start of the year. He understood that the man was seriously ill and needed to stay at home. He helped Sakura as much as he was able but left the school participation requirement for parents to his wife. Seeing him by his wife, Iruka wondered where Sakura got her looks. Despite his porcelain skin, it didn't seem that either parent were contributing factors to her features. Was it possible that the couple had just the right recessive alleles to create the beauty that they had brought into the world? Leaving his musings for another time, Iruka nodded his permission to speak and his gratitude for the silence at the older man._

"_**Well then, first thing's first. I'm terribly sorry about my late arrival, the baby-sitter had been struggling over some homework and made the mistake of asking ME what to do. I couldn't just let her struggle so," **__he looked at his wife rather sheepishly while she just shook her head, an amused smirk on her face. __**"I went through every contact on my cellphone until I found someone who could help her!" **__With the exception of Mrs. Taruki, everyone in the room laughed at the man's kind generosity. _

"_**Anyway, down to business. I had the opportunity to talk with both my daughter and her friend, Ino Yamanaka. As I understand it, there's been another poor child that has been victimized and subjected to verbal abuse." **_

_Mrs. Taruki stood up again to defend her girls but all it took was one glance from the kind older gentleman, and she was sitting down in her seat again._

"_**As I understand it, Naruto Uzamaki, an orphan under Iruka's charge has been tormented constantly since his parents died solely because they did. The circumstances revolving around their deaths are unknown and wild rumors have flown about, misleading the general public into thinking that his parents were criminals. This is not the case." **__The sick, older gentlemen looked at the adults gathered around as they all bristled against what was sure to be a scolding. __**"I may be housebound most of the time, but I am still a detective with the Konoha police force and I would know better than any of you who's a criminal and who is not."**_

_He leaned back into his chair and took a look at the parents. His friend and fellow detective, Aoba Yamanaka, nodded his head. The rest of the parents looked shocked and ashamed that they had been caught in their childish assumptions. It seemed that the only one who was not ready to deal with the discrimination that such young children had shown they were capable of was Mrs. Taruki._

_He vaguely remembered meeting her at the start of the year. She was a busty woman with attractive features. But her personality was that of a viper. She raised her daughters to be pageant queens and expected them to be perfect. Not academically though. He didn't even think the girls could read. He also knew that part of the animosity was that an investigation he had led a couple years back had revealed her husband to have had dealings with a violent and blood thirsty organization. Unfortunately, he had had to arrest the man himself and Aoba had been with him. That their daughters were so unique and, Sora didn't want to feel like he was bragging but, could probably beat the Taruki girls in any pageant they entered undoubtedly pissed their mother off to no end. Oh yes, this animosity had a root; even in Naruto's case._

"_**I would like to point out that I am relaying only what my daughter has told me, I will not interject my opinion on it at this point though; every day at recess, the children of her class will either gather around her and Ino or around the Uzamaki boy and verbally harangue them until someone indicates that Iruka is approaching. On the way home, these children are ambushed by the children in this school, not just in their class. They are beaten up and verbally abused even further. When my wife tried to approach the principal about this matter, the secretary informed her that it wasn't their concern as it occurs outside of school grounds. As such," **__Sora sent an apologetic glance at Iruka Umino, yet another soul whose skeletons he had the misfortune of knowing, __**"our dear Iruka was not told about this abuse until it was too late. And it is abuse. Don't misunderstand my words or mistake them for a father's worry. This is abuse and it will stop, now." **__With that, Sora had indicated that he'd said his piece and more. Everyone knew about his reputation for getting his guy on the job. They knew that there was no greater joy in his life than his wife and his daughter. They also knew when he was acting like a father and when he was in detective mode. When around Sakura, he always had smile on his face and in his eyes. There was no smile on his face and there was determination in his eyes. He sat calmly by his wife, but anyone who looked into his eyes would know that he was furious. _

_Iruka stood and addressed the parents, __**"No, this was not brought to my attention by anyone. That there were clearly parties who knew about this saddens me. There will be change though. I refuse to take back my initial punishment. The entire class, with the exception of Naruto Uzamaki, Ino Yamanaka, and Sakura Haruno will be denied the privilege of daily recess until I feel that they've learned their lesson. The lesson will be manners. They will review manners during the time that they would normally have recess. I do not feel that suspension or expulsion is a proper punishment for seven-year-olds but if it comes to that," **__he looked at Mrs. Taruki, __**"then it comes to that. I will need you all to work with the children on this. I'm not saying that the three children who were victimized are excluded from needing work at home. As I understand it, Ino and Naruto had a good sized vocabulary to verbally fight back and need to be talked to about their language as well. Furthermore, I will not tolerate this kind of behavior from my students or from their parents. The city of Konoha prides itself on its education system and I will not let this kind of thing slide by quietly."**_

_With that, the meeting came to an end. Most of the parents flooded out, ready to teach their kids right and move on. The Harunos and Yamanakas took their time though, they weren't really in a hurry. Since Sora had managed to stir himself out of the house, they were even thinking of having dinner together since they already had a baby-sitter. That was, until Mrs. Taruki came towards them. _

"_**Well, once again Sora, you've used your status as a detective to selfishly benefit you! You're pathetic. First Juugo and now this! Is there no end to your cruelty? Is there nothing that you can leave this family?" **__The woman looked quite deranged as she stood there yelling about the unfairness that he'd delivered to her innocent family. His patience was running out though. He could feel the tightness in his chest and knew he was about to need his inhaler. Before he did though, he thought he had one more scolding left in him._

"_**So you feel that exchanging weapons for counterfeit money which he then used to give fake loans to the average joe who couldn't afford to make a mistake were innocent activities? You think telling people to kill a poor boy's family because his mother had the misfortune of witnessing your husband's activities are innocent? Rest assured Karin, when I get the evidence, I will make sure you share in your husband's punishment. Rest assured, this nonsense will come to an end one way or another and if you ever try to hurt my daughter again, I will make sure the entire world knows about how you help your daughters cheat in those quaint little pageants." **_

_By now, Sora was practically in the other woman's face. She looked torn between feeling angered and frightened but seemed to choose angered. She snarled at him and then turned around to stomp out. He waited until he was sure she was gone and quickly searched for which pocket of his coat he had placed his inhaler. Misa didn't look at all at peace with the horrible redhead out of the room. She looked at her husband taking a desperate puff from his inhaler to soothe his damaged lungs with worry and sorrow. The two couples filed out of the classroom with many apologies to Iruka and headed to dinner. All through which, Misa wondered how long they were going to be able to keep Sakura in school without Karin ruining the poor girl's life. As if children needed any help from that witch to discriminate against her little girl. A week had gone by before she managed to convince Sora. After breaking the news to Sakura, Misa went about doing the research for the next year. She would make everything go smoothly so that Sora would have no doubts that this was the correct choice. There were monsters out there in the world and, sometimes, they even looked like real people. She wouldn't have them hurting her daughter, not anymore. She offered to include Ino and Naruto in her plans but Iruka and Aoba would have none of it. _

_The next day, Sakura was seen by Iruka hugging Ino and crying while Naruto just sat on his swing and watched. Sakura had told Ino that she wouldn't be going to the second grade with her. She would be home schooled by her mother. Her father assured her that she'd get to do girl scouts and sports and other activities as well and Ino and her could be together then. They could play together all the time still. Nonetheless, the two girls were sad for the rest of the year. They were glued at the hip, knowing that they wouldn't get to have the rest of their education together. The rest of the children left them alone. They didn't include them, but they didn't openly exclude them anymore. The girls didn't want to be a part of their games anyway. As for the Taruki girls, they still talked about Ino and Sakura with less than flattering language behind their hands but Iruka couldn't call them out on it. Karin Taruki had made a point of haranguing the principal about the incidents and about how she and her family had been disrespected. But all Iruka could think about was that Sakura was being forced to retreat because she was going to be a smart, pretty young lady, and that just wouldn't do if she was the daughter of the one who "ruined" the Taruki family._

**Well, that's that. Please send me feedback on how y'all would like to see this story end. No promises or guarantees but I need some input. Hope you enjoyed and, as always, thank you so much for reading and reviewing!**_  
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	13. Chapter 11

**Hello! I apologize for the incredibly long wait. A big thank you to everyone who kept reviewing and adding the story to their alerts! It was much appreciated and got me working on it again! Unfortunately, I'm a busy gal so, there will be more sparseness, I'm sure. :-( But I'll do my best to keep up.**

**As always, I do not own Naruto, the characters or the story. I simply play around with it from time to time.**

**Enjoy!**

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Sakura wasn't sure what she was supposed to do.

Her mother talked about the Taruki family all the time. She'd go on and on about the latest lead she'd heard about concerning the criminal activities of their family. She practically clipped every news article that made even a mention of them. Despite her mother's efforts to educate her on the Tarukis and protect her from their cruelty, Sakura wasn't as sheltered from it as her mother had thought.

She hadn't forgotten her tormentors. They hadn't forgotten about her either. She remembered them very well and they were quick to return to bad habits when she encountered them around the community. And, of course, they would go to Kage High. Where else would they go?

Sakura had to be pulled out of Soccer in the fourth grade. Reenee was on the same team and would trip her, constantly. Jeanette was in the same ceramics and pottery class all through middle school. It was a shame. Sakura had really liked the nice old woman who taught the small classes from home. Ms. Chiyo taught her small classes with heavy sarcasm and dry humor that many found offensive. Sakura had taken it all in stride and reacted pleasantly, dropping a few barbs here and there. Chiyo appreciated the girl's wit and, upon learning of the familial conflicts, offered to teach Sakura privately. Misa had gratefully accepted but Sakura had wished she could have been in an actual class.

It was Jeanette who stood in the hallway just outside of the girls' locker rooms. Reenee must still be in the middle of a game. Sakura stood there staring at her. Jeanette looked like she still did pageants. Her red-brown hair was pulled up in to a neat ponytail. It had been styled into medium sized curls that fell to her shoulders. There must have been a crazy amount of hairspray on them to still be styled perfectly after the gym period. Her cerulean eyes were glinting with menace from behind her round frames. Her face was pristine, not a single flaw. She was also much taller than Sakura and had long legs that were easily shown off by the school issued gym shorts. She was just as busy as her mother too. Sakura was sure that the guys were all over her.

"Come on Cherry Brains! What? Did they haul you off someplace for special people? That why you look so dumb?" Jeanette let out a loud laugh at her jabs. Ino stood beside Sakura, glaring holes into the red-head's face, but didn't say anything. She simply took Sakura by the arm and led her away to their next period which, thankfully, was lunch. The girls would finally tell her why Gaara was so messed up and targeting her.

Jeanette shouted a few profanities and some additional names at the girls. Reenee came up to her and remarked "Mom's gonna be ecstatic when she finds out the Bubble Skull is back." Jeanette just smiled as they moved into the locker rooms. She knew their mother still held a grudge. They still held the grudge. Sakura's dad ruined their family and their family would make a point of ruining her.

At home, lunch was a culinary class with mom. They'd make all sorts of things together. Roasts, cute sandwiches, tea party fare, feasts fit for royalty, gourmet breakfast food and more. Needless to say, the school lunch Sakura was about to dig in to was not quite up to previous standards. There was a beige slop that seemed to be mashed potatoes in one section. A few slices of something pink seemed to be ham?... Maybe beets… It was hard to say. The pile of overcooked peas were recognizable. And, probably the safest of all the "food" was a prepackaged, un-opened, tamper free container of pudding. Sakura would make a point from here on out to pack lunches.

Her new friends were fidgeting restlessly in their seats, waiting for Temari. She had one of Itachi's survival classes and it seemed that it was getting out late. Tenten was trying to make small talk with Hinata about their next class, which they had together, but the fire in the quiet girl's eyes had yet to die down. Ino's hand was on Sakura's arm but the blonde still didn't say anything. She simply sat, staring forward, in silence. It was about five minutes of Tenten half-heartedly chatting with Hinata until Temari sauntered in. She didn't bother with the lunch line and carried her things to their table. Sakura glanced to the side and saw Gaara and his group all sitting a few tables away. Finally, some distance. She didn't miss that the malevolent redhead happened to be glancing in her direction as well.

Temari sat down with a huff. As she pulled a brown bag from her backpack she let out a great sigh. "So, Tenten tells me my little brother is back to old habits again." She pointed her gaze at Sakura. It was a gaze that held anger, but only for the situation and her brother. Behind that anger was a deep concern for Sakura. The pinkette however, only saw anger. She immediately began to apologize for earning his attentions, for provoking him, for having the misfortune of ever meeting him and, had Ino not squeezed her arm, she might have apologized for even enrolling.

Temari shushed her as she began to open her lunch bag, "Oh quit it! He is the one pushing buttons. I love him. He's my brother! But he is really messed up. He's always been this way. The only time I saw him remotely normal was, well, it was a while ago and it didn't last. The thing is, you can't let him get to you, okay? So long as you don't give him anything to hold against you, he usually backs off." She hadn't been told about what the girls had seen in the locker room yet. She was blissfully unaware as she reached in for her lunch.

Tenten raised her hand a bit, "Ano… Tem, there's more." Temari glanced at the brunette, wondering what more Gaara could have done. She didn't think he would do too terribly much on the first day of school. She figured he had just kicked the new girl's chair a bit, said a few mean things. Nothing more. "He's-"

"He's molested and assaulted her is what he's done!"

Though quick and quiet, Hinata's voice was firm and clear. Temari's eyes widened, her whole body frozen in the act of setting her lunch out. Hinata was not one to anger easily. The few things that got that far under her skin were tell-tale signs of her own problems and it left Temari concerned for more than the situation originally let on. She slowly leaned over to put her lunch back in her back. She just wasn't as hungry as she thought she was. In the process, she glanced at the table her brother's gang always sat at. There he was, smirking slyly and staring at their table. No. Not at their table. At Sakura sitting at their table. He was planning. His friends were engaged in their usual antics but differently. Naruto and Sai seemed to be bickering as they both scribbled away. Neji was talking at the otherwise occupied Gaara. Shikamaru…..well….she tried not to look at him directly. For her, it was like staring at the sun. There was definitely a weird air about them today though.

She pulled herself back up and stared at Sakura. "Well that changes things. What's your next class?"

A mumbled "Calculus… Ibiki…" came from the younger girl.

"Really? Huh, I have Ibiki next. You're that far in to math already? That's Honors Calculus kid!" Sakura nodded. "Well. Unfortunately, so does Gaara. But at least I'll be there and, I'll lay it out for him. You see, I have a deal with Gaara and so long as I mind my side of it, him and his group don't bother with Ino, Tenten or Hinata. I'm bringing you in to this group kid and, if he wants to eat for the next two years, he'll mind his deal.!"

Sakura looked at the older blonde with hope but wondered if that'd be enough. Gaara had cornered her in a broom closet. He gnawed on her bare skin, leaving a mark that would probably scar. She wasn't sure that someone who was so lacking in control would be obedient to his sister's wished. "Umm. Temari. What is the deal you have? If you don't mind my asking that is?" She looked down.

Temari laughed a big, deep laugh that had everyone looking at their table. Even Gaara had stopped observing his new game to glance at his boisterous sister. Just a glance though. Temari lowered her voice and looked Sakura straight in the eye. "My brother can't cook to save his life. He also hates talking on the phone so he won't call for delivery. And, his favorite meal is a family secret that I have promised to make every Sunday for him. I swear! I sometimes wonder what he would have done to me a long time ago if had ever figured out how to cook. But trust me, my brother could burn water!" The blonde fell in to a fit of giggles, no doubt, remembering humorous instances that backed up her claims.

It all seemed very silly to Sakura but she figured, if the other girls felt so easy about it as Temari did, then it would be okay. Even Hinata had calmed down after her initial outburst, but there was still a harsh light in her gentle eyes. She glanced at Gaara's table real quick and saw him talking with the other guys, not looking at her. She sighed in relief a bit.

Gaara heard his sister laugh her loud laugh. It grated on him how happy she could be when he knew all the reasons she had to be otherwise. Her active defiance of her situation constantly angered him. In this case, he assumed that she was either unaware of his activities with the new girl or didn't take them seriously. He figured it was the latter.

"What the hell are you scribbling you dumb blonde?

"That's for me to know. What the hell are you scribbling?"

"I'm sketching idiot, big difference."

"What do you know about big?"

"What do you mean?"

"Just saying. You aren't so I figured you wouldn't have a good concept of the idea…"

"Baka."

"Teme."

Shikamaru's brow crinkled. He looked at the open book that lay in front of him, then at Naruto and Sai in weary frustration. With a big sigh, he wrote the solution in his shoji strategy book. Something his father gave him to keep his mind busy. More often than not, he found himself correcting the book's solutions.

He looked at Gaara, seeing him staring off into the crowd of people. As he traced his friend's stare, he saw that it was not aimless but had purpose. As does everything Gaara did. He was staring at Temari's little group of friends. But something was different. There was a fifth girl with them. Shikamaru didn't normally concern himself with that group. They were off limits and not worth the effort to consider. But the girl with pink hair that sat with them, darting glances at Gaara every now and then, was not off limits if he recalled the agreement correctly.

He wondered how this would affect things. Just for a second though. After the initial interest, Shikamaru quickly ran through what it would take just to find out about the girl and discarded any lingering interest he held. It would just be too troublesome for him…

Gaara on the other hand, Shikamaru looked at the redhead again, seemed to have all the energy in the world for her.

_Huh. Not my problem. I'll just observe and let him have his fun. Just hope I won't have to clean up any messes this time._

He slowly rose to his feet, snagged his strategy book and sauntered off to his next class.

_If I get there early enough, I can take a quick nap…_

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**Thank you all for reading! As always, comments, suggestions and critique are welcome!**_  
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	14. Chapter 12

**Hello Readers,**

**Thank you, so much, for all the reviews! I'm trying to be better, and finish at least this story before my next absence. I know I have another one but, the plot bunny is in the plot bunny senior home right now. Who knows, maybe it'll come back. We'll see.**

**I received quite a few suggestions for a raise in the rating after the last chapter. These echoed my own thoughts that it was probably time. I didn't think I would let it get to an M level but I think it might. Still don't know yet. **

**Also, I'll try to answer as many of your questions as the story evolves. Your questions are what will guide the story so keep them coming!**

**_Finally: I do not own Naruto._**

***Edits included: Big thanks to ShadowFoxAngel!*  
**

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Ibiki's classroom was not inviting. There were no windows and it was barely lit. There was nothing on the white walls to gaze at (zone out to), no decorations, and no personal items. It was scary in its pristineness. However, despite the creepiness of the actual classroom, it was but an introduction to the man at the desk. He was tall and muscular, not in a steroid induced manner but more of a military fit sort of way. Hi white button down and khaki work pants were pressed to perfection. His hair was kept short, not quite the military buzz cut but similar. Just a few centimeters longer. It wasn't the scars the crossed his face that made him scary. It was the intense look in his eyes. They were eyes that could spot a mote of dust on the opposite side of his pristine classroom. They were eyes that could scare the correct answer to a question right on to your paper. Ibiki Morino's eyes were making Sakura wonder what she was doing in his class.

Luckily, Temari sat next to her. They had arrived to their class early and took a seat in the back. girls had taken seats in the center desk of the back row, near Gaara's sleeping friend. It was ten minutes to the start of their session with Ibiki and Sakura wondered at the wisdom of arriving early to this class. Ibiki just stared at them.

Sakura was trying hard not to fidget in her seat but found herself trying to gaze anywhere but at Ibiki. The blank walls held no distractions for her. This being Temari's second class today with Ibiki, she was already working on the homework he had assigned her earlier. The blonde was too engrossed to offer any reprieve for Sakura. However, there was one thing in the room that gave Sakura a welcome distraction. One of Gaara's friends was snoozing away in the desk to their right, on Temari's other side.

Sakura didn't remember being introduced to him or having any problems with him yet, so she was trying not to judge him right away.

_Who knows, maybe some of Gaara's friends aren't like him_? _Naruto doesn't seem so bad either. It's mostly Sai and Gaara, so far, who have been weird/cruel._

_**Sometimes, a person can be guilty by association.**_

Sakura thought about it and the little the girls had actually told her about Gaara. About the people he'd injured or scared off. They brought up a single name quite a bit but never really went in to detail about the girl. "Yuki." From the sounds of it, Yuki had been the worst case. But all through the telling of these occurrences, Temari would just shake her head. She would have an excuse for what happened that made it less of a fault against Gaara.

"_Gaara can be pretty twisted! There was this really nice guy on the track team, Minoto, and Gaara broke his ankle. It never healed right and the poor guy lost his scholarship." Tenten recounted with a frown._

"_First of all, he didn't break his ankle. Even Minoto said that he had tripped while doing hurdles! The doctors and Gai –Sensei all saw him fall. Gaara was nowhere near Minoto! Besides, Minoto wasn't as nice as you think he was…" Temari muttered as she dug for more fruit in her bag. Tenten just glared at the blonde's head as though it ought to have exploded from the intensity._

"_Hinata looked at the two girls and gently spoke up. "But then there's Yuki who-"_

_Sakura almost didn't hear Hinata because, at the same time, Ino was putting in her two cents. "What about Lita? Huh? Wanna explain that one away?" From the tone in Ino's voice, Temari's defensiveness of her younger brother wasn't new. "Explain how Gaara was not responsible for her entire art show being sabotaged." _

_Temari turned to glare at Ino. "Well, they never were able to pin it on Gaara so, innocent until proven guilty." Temari seemed to pout a little._

_It was common knowledge for all except Sakura, that at the time of Lita's Senior Art Demo, only six people had keys to the art room for after-hours access. Lita and Anko, of course, had keys. The janitor had a key of course, as did the principal and vice principal. However, for some reason, the final key was checked out to Gaara. A key he had been issued by Anko when he and Yuki were preparing for a National art competition. The two of them had been diligently perfecting their work well in to the night together. Yuki's key had been returned after her accident. Gaara had retained his until after Lita's show. _

_No one else could have been responsible for the chaotic mess that became of Lita's hard work that night. She was best known for her collages, all of which had been spray painted over in blood red paint. Her few sculptures had been smashed to pieces. Her main piece that had been featured in the local paper, praised for its originality and expressiveness, a portrait of her deceased mother. Portraits were normally out of her comfort zone and she could never really perfect the facial features but, this one portrait of her mother, had been perfect. After the vandalism of her other pieces though, it looked like a parody. Someone had repainted over the portrait. Elongated the nose. Made the mouth more lopsided. Mussed up the hair. Fine straight teeth were altered until the subject looked like a meth addict. The eyes became slanted at odd angles. The end result made Lita's mother look more like a troll than a person. She had been devastated. Her most perfect work so far in her young life. As though the memories of her mother in the small but bustling town of Konoha hadn't been enough, Lita had to deal with a school where everyone knew what had happened and who did it but couldn't officially punish the culprit. She had to deal with seeing the person who defaced her mother's portrait every day. Lita never graduated from Kage High. She had picked up and moved away from bad memories._

_Temari's excuse for her brother was just that: an excuse. Hinata looked around and spoke up again, "What about Yu-?" but no one heard her this time either. A boy with goggles on his head and an exceptionally long scarf had stumbled into Tenten's back and started a ruckus. He had been trying to work his way back toward Naruto but go jostled by a heavier set guy holding a giant bag of chips. Apologies were exchanged and the girls' table calmed down. Then Ino and Tenten began telling story after story of Gaara's crimes against humanity. Temari would follow each one up with excuse after excuse. Hinata kept trying to talk about this Yuki girl, as though her story was most significant but the others kept drowning her out. _

_Sakura was beginning to see a trend. Bad things happened to good people here, Gaara was usually connected, and no one was ever caught or punished for it. __**Splendid…**_

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Temari was staring at the Introduction to Physics homework she had received from Ibiki earlier in the day. She was staring, but not comprehending as her mind was definitely elsewhere. She was always intensely defensive of her brother, but she would never hold it against her friends for passing judgment on him. Deep down, she knew what he was capable of. As his sister though, she had to hope that he was above it all.

When she saw Shikamaru heading for class early, she took the opportunity to dart away from the lunch table and took Sakura with her. She didn't want to leave the new girl with Ino, Tenten and Hinata who were adamant about telling her every single thing Gaara had been blamed for since what had happened with Yuki. And Hinata seemed determined to bring it up. She didn't want Sakura to be terrified and never come back.

Yeah, Temari made light of her deal with Gaara and came to his defense in these awful happenings that surround him. But she only did so so that her friends would feel comfortable Gaara being in this school. At one point, they had been so comfortable that Ino had begun to hang out with his group to be around Kiba. It didn't last too long, but it had happened. At the end of the day though, so long as she could at least have the semblance of a regular life, Temari was happy. Only her two brothers knew about the deal that provided that semblance though.

There was a shifting to the right of her and Temari glanced at the Nara boy as he roused himself from his slumber. All her friends knew, the whole school probably knew in fact, that she had had a major crush on Shikamaru Nara since she moved to Konoha with her two brothers and the "guardian." His aloofness reminded her of the men she had grown up around and was a familiar characteristic. But he had a tender side to him that appealed even more to her, something she did not grow up with and something she had seen less and less of in him since they had grown up. Her crush wasn't as wild as it had been but she knew that she still had feeling for the guy. She always would. Much as Hinata would always crush on Naruto. But Temari, though opinionated, pushy, forward, and type A, would never make the first move with Shikamaru. She wanted him to come to her. Only then would she know that he wanted her, that she wasn't too much trouble.

He looked and caught her glancing at him out of the corner of her eye and simply sighed. "Girls…troublesome…yaaaawn" and laid his head back down. She couldn't help but notice that his eye liner was smudged from all the eye-rubbing he does.

Her observations ended there as the rest of the class began to file in. No one chose to sit on the other side of Shikamaru. That seat was reserved. If Ibiki would allow markings or decorations in the classroom it would have either Gaara's name on it or a likeness of his tattoo.

Despite his territorial tendencies, Temari didn't understand what would make him go after Sakura the way he has been. He was never this forward with people. He always operated behind the scenes, scaring people with mental tricks or subtle threats. Temari knew that Minoto had tripped because there were snakes placed randomly throughout the track for three weeks. Minoto was terrified of snakes. The day he broke his ankle, a distinct garden snake had slithered by, trying to find its way back home to its terrarium in Orochimaru's classroom. The whole school knew about Minoto's fear though. He would often faint in his classes with Orochimaru when the sadistic bastard would subtly move his snakes around in the classroom to be near Minoto's seats. Anyone could have done it…

As Temari defended her brother against her own musings, the red-headed devil himself walked in and took a seat on the other side of Shikamaru. She looked over and saw him gazing curiously at Sakura. She needed to get the new girl into the deal somehow. She'd have to figure out the details later but for now, she needed to indicate that a discussion would be coming down the pike.

"Gaaaaaraaaa!" Temari leaned back in her chair with a quirky smile on her face. "How about I make your favorite tonight?" Code words for: "We need to talk about 'that.'"

"Whatever floats that boat of yours."

Her brother didn't look away from Sakura as he answered her question with the traditional response. He'd humor her. She had time to figure things out. Hopefully, he'd honor the deal as he had in the past and leave Sakura alone until things were hashed out. Temari relaxed a little and glanced at the new girl. The pinkette had looked up from her book and was surprised to see him staring so intently at her. As though she didn't even hear him come in. Seriously, with all the chains he wore, he was like a cat!

Shikamaru rolled his head a bit to look at Gaara, "Oh. You're here. 'Bout time. How troublesome."

Then, a great big slam was heard, jostling Sakura and Gaara out of their staring match. Ibiki had hit his desk with his giant fist and officially begun the class. Students who were unfamiliar with Ibiki were very familiar with a phrase associated with his classes.

"May the last one standing escape safely."

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**Questions, suggestions and critiques are welcome! **

**Thanks for reading!**


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